Life of a Uchiha
by SakuraBlizzard
Summary: This is sequel to "Spawn of a Uchiha". In Sasukes POV. Sasuke and Sakura have two wonderful kids, and another on the way. Sasuke has taken on Akiyo as his own. But what happens when Akiyo discovers that Itachi is truly his father? Will he still love him?
1. Sasukes return

**Authors note: **This is the sequel to "Spawn of a Uchiha" ( DUN DUN DUN! ) lol. So if you havent read that story, you wont get this one. This takes place 1 ½ years later, and Sasuke has killed Orochimaru (just like he said he was going to do in the first story) so Sasuke is just now coming back to the village. This IS in Sasukes POV and this IS flashback, that's why its in italics. This story WILL NOT be as long as the first one, and after this one, there will be no more ( most likely) lol. So review, and tell me what you think. But no flames pleasee._____________________________________________________________

_I stood in front of the hidden leaf gate. The big green gate doors stood wide open, and looked like they had hardly any security. It looked so easy to evade, to break into. I hoped they had gotten better security throughout all these years, not that it would really matter since Orochimaru was dead._

_I took a deep breath before I stepped one foot into the village. I would have to start my life over, if they even allowed me back to stay. Although I was certain they would, me being a Uchiha and everything. But you could never be TOO certain. It would be a pain dealing with the police force and the hokage, but I decided this was what needed to be done. Better now than never._

_I slowly strolled into the village, not being sneaky like I had been the last time I was here. It had been nearly two years since I had been here, and the village didn't look any different. I had to force myself to continue to walk, not wanting to back out. No. I couldn't back out. I had a promise to fulfill._

_I walked through the tiny roads that led throughout the village. There were many people out, but they surprisingly paid no attention to me. Perhaps I was just a ninja to them, I was nothing special. But if they took a longer glance, they would all probably flip out and go get the police._

_Of course this isn't what I wanted, at least not until I reached my destination. After that, I didn't care what they did with me. I would have to deal with the police sooner or later, but I would prefer later. To avoid this, I decided that maybe it would be my best move to travel a little more…secret._

_I jumped on the nearest rooftop and sprinted along the buildings. It wouldn't take me long to get to her, I knew exactly where I was going._

_I sprinted quietly and secretly, nobody noticing me. I was just a regular ninja to them, but they couldn't see who I really was. Finally, I reached her house._

_I jumped down from the rooftop to her house, and landed swiftly on the balls of my feet. I stood straight and looked at the tiny, tan colored house before I walked up the concrete stairs. The stairs led to the wooden door, where just behind it, I could hear her talking._

_It took me a moment before I brought my hand back into a fist and knocked on the door. I waited, no reply. I knocked again, waiting another fifteen seconds. I was very impatient. _

_Before I had to knock a third time, the door creaked open. _

_Sakura, holding Akiyo, opened the door wide open. Her emerald green eyes stared into mine as her mouth dropped open. I glanced down at Akiyo, who was busy gnawing on one of his fingers. His own drool rolled down his hands, and his sky blue onesie that he was wearing. His light black hair was not long and his big black eyes met mine. He looked for a second, then looked back at his hands, continuing to gnaw on them. I looked back up to Sakura, whos pink hair was a little longer than shoulder length now and she was wearing a green tank top with black shorts. She was barefoot and she looked tired. But her eyes were wide with surprise._

"_Sakura." I said softly._

_She swallowed. "Sasuke." she answered back._

"_I came back for you." I said. Sakuras eyes began to tear up, but she forced them back. She took a deep breath and scooted to the side._

"_Please come in." she said practically forcing the words out. I nodded and walked past her, into her tiny house._

_I smirked as I heard her close the door behind me. "momma." a tiny voice said from behind me. I turned around to see Akiyos face scrunched up and his hands opening and closing._

"_Hold on sweetie." Sakura said as if I weren't even there. She sat Akiyo in the floor, surrounded by blocks. Sakura walked past me to her refrigerator, retrieved a bottle, and gave it to Akiyo on the floor. Akiyo brought it to his mouth and began sucking it down. It surprised me how big he had gotten, but then again, it had been almost two years since I seen him. Sakura looked back at me calmly. She was now seventeen, but she still looked the same for the most part besides her hair._

"_Akiyo has gotten big." I pointed out looking down at him. She glanced down at him as well and nodded._

"_He is almost two years old." she said walking to me. I looked at her big green eyes that were just a few inches from mine. She sighed. "you came back." she whispered._

"_I told you I would." I said. I walked past her and sat down on her bed. She sat down next to me, calmly. I sighed as I looked at Akiyo who was still drinking his bottle._

"_I missed you."_

"_I missed you too." I said._

"_Orochimaru?"_

"_Gone." I answered, still not looking at her. Sakura sighed next to me._

"_So we're safe." Sakura said relieved._

"_Yes."_

"_And that means…your coming home…" Sakura said, a tint of hopefulness in her tone._

_It took me a minute before I answered. I had promised her a long time ago that I would come back when Orochimaru, she had been waiting for me this whole time. It had taken me so long because I had to tie up loose ends, which I did. Itachi was dead, everything was fine and taken care of._

_I smiled and turned my head from Akiyo to look at her. Her eyes were filled with curiosity and fear, fear that I would leave again. I touched her cheek softly and leaned in to her. _

"_Yes." I said feeling her soft breathing on my lips. "yes, I am home."_


	2. My son, Akiyo

**Authors note: **This is eight years after the flashback last chapter. (Thats why it was in italics, it was a flashback when Sasuke came back. So thats why I skipped time. So TECHNICALLY this is where the sequel "begins") So that means Sasuke and Sakura have been together for almost nine years. Sakura and Sasuke are both 25 years old, and Akiyo is 10 years old. Sakura and Sasuke had another child, a daughter, named Akira, who is 7 years old. So...yeah. Decided id fill you in. Lol. Review.

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I opened my eyes to see the moon outside my window. It was like a big ball of light as it just lay there in the sky, totally still, watching me. I sighed a tired sigh as I glanced my eyes down at my chest, seeing my hand moving up and down with my steady breathing. I felt a feeling of comfort and happiness as I saw the other pale hand that was linked in mine, finger through finger. The diamond ring on her ring finger shining in the moonlit room and her calm, steady breathing blowing on my bare chest.

I looked at Sakura's pink hair, spilt over her face and my chest. Her head was rested comfortably on my biceps and her breathing touched my chest every time exhaled. I took my thumb and rubbed mine on her thumb gently, watching her natural reaction to nudge just a little. I smiled as I buried my face into her forest of pink hair and kissed her scalp. She moved a little, but did not awake.

I moved my hand up and down her back gently, to comfort her but not awake her. I smirked to myself as I thought of her being my wife. Never in this world would I have ever expected to marry Sakura, I had planned on killing Itachi and giving my body up willingly to Orochimaru. But seeing as that was impossible, they were both dead, I could finally do with my life what I wanted to do. Restore my clan.

Of course, that wasnt the only reason I married Sakura. I did truly love her, she made me happy. I always remembered when I would have nothing to do with her, but that was because I was so focused on killing Itachi. When he died, I could truly pay attention to her. I don't know what it was that triggered the feelings first. When I found out Itachi had raped her, I just...well, they just kind of came. Like I HAD to do something, like I HAD to help her. I felt it was my responsibility, although it clearly wasn't. I wasn't sure what had happened, all I knew was, that I truly fell in love with her.

She moaned next to me, causing me to look at her face. She was so beautiful in the moonlight, and so peaceful. I smiled when I looked past her and at her enlarged stomach that held my son. She was nine months pregnant, and he would be ready to come out anytime now. We were going to name him, Onari. I sighed a quiet sigh as I thought about how we were going to have _three _kids, one of which wasn't even technically my son. But Akiyo didn't know that, he had always looked at me and called me father. He knew nothing of Itachi, and we planned to keep it that way. It would just be better if he never knew about him at all, Sakura and I agreed on that together.

Still, Akiyo resembled Itachi in every way. He looked like him, he acted like him, and he even possessed the same skill as Itachi. He is only ten years old, and he already knows how to use his sharingan. I didn't know how to use mine until I was thirteen. Itachi learned his at eight. Akiyo was truly a genius, just like Itachi. And thats what scared me.

The way Akiyo was excelling, how strong he was getting just as a mere child, scared the hell out of me. When I looked at him, it took me a minute to remind myself that he wasn't Itachi. That's how much he resembled him. It was a scary thing.

Then there was Akira. _My_ daughter. She was seven years old, and such a sweetheart. Akira was unique though, she looked _just _like Sakura, except with darker pink for her hair. She had very dark green eyes and her skin was a little darker than Akiyos. Having all of the characteristics as Sakura, she was always wanting to be with me. She was definitely a daddy's girl.

Thinking about the two children, I suddenly wanted to see them. At first, I tried to get the thought out of my head, not wanting to wake Sakura up in the process of moving. But I just couldn't shake it.

Carefully, I unhooked my hand from Sakuras and wrapped my right arm around her shoulders. I held her as I slowly moved my chest out from under her head, placing her head carefully on my pillow. I threw my legs over the side of the bed carefully, trying not to make much movement. Sakura moaned again, but didn't wake up. I slipped on the house shoes that were by my night stand and carefully stood up. I looked back at Sakura, biting my lip just a little. She was laying diagonal, comfortably, clutching onto my pillow tight. I could hardly see her face through the forest of pink that draped over her pale face, but I didn't have too. She was beautiful just as she lay.

I smiled as I turned around. I walked slowly and quietly, the floor creaking quietly underneath me. I placed my hand on the knob and turned it, giving me access to the hallway. I stepped out into the dark hallway, closing the door gently behind me. I sighed as I activated the sharingan, it always helped me a little to see in the dark.

I slowly walked throughout the medium sized house, until I reached the staircase. The stairs led to Akiras room, since she wouldn't shut up until we finally gave in and gave her the top. It was the only room up there, the stairs led right to the door. It was almost like an attic, but it wasn't. Sakura already said there was no way she was putting her daughter in an attic filled with, quote "yucky spiders and cobwebs" unquote. I didn't get it. Why were women so scared of bugs? All you had to do was step on them. I would worry more about Shino getting onto you about bugs than the actual bug itself. But then again, I guess thats why im not a girl.

I cleared my throat as I began walking up the creaky, wooden stairs. I still didnt trust these things. I wanted to rebuild them, but Sakura wasn't having it. _"Your not gonna go and ruin those stairs!" _I rolled my eyes. The old Sasuke would have done it just to make her mad.

But then again, the old Sasuke didn't have two kids and another one on the way.

I turned the knob and opened it gently when I reached the top of the stairs. Of course I was greeted by pink painted walls and stuffed horses everywhere. Typical girl thing, I guess. I walked in the room quietly, leaving the door open since I would be leaving in a moment anyway.

I walked over to the tiny bed that I could never fit on, even if I wanted to. Akira was curled up on her sides with both hands in between her knees. Her magenta hair was sprawled out all over the white fluffy pillow that was underneath her small head. She was wearing a pink gown that reached knee length, and wore little rubber bracelets around her tiny wrists. They were black and I assumed Sakura had given them to her. I snorted as I noticed the stuffed frog Naruto had given to her when she was just born. I couldn't believe she still had the thing, but then again Akiyo still had his too. And Onari would have one as well as soon as he was born. I guess it was a Naruto thing.

Akira sighed a deep sigh and rolled over to her side. Her fists were balled up as she held the frog under her arm. She quietly shifted to a new position, and a tiny dribble of drool ran down her mouth. I almost wanted to laugh at the cute sight, but I didn't want to wake her up.

"Mmm..." Akira moaned in her sleep. "Akiyo, quit it...quit tickling me..." she said almost smiling.

I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing at her. It was cute - yes I actually think something is 'cute' - I got myself together, and leaned down to kiss her tiny forehead. She flinched and cracked her eyes open. I looked at her, frozen, hoping she wouldn't wake up.

She looked at me with half opened eyes, and five seconds later, they slowly closed. I sighed a relived sigh as I began to turn around. I creeped myself to the door, taking one last glance at Akira before I slowly stepped out. I smiled, closing the door gently behind me.

I slowly walked down the stairs, and sighed. Then I looked ahead to see Akiyos room, just down the hallway. It was to the right of what was going to be Onari's room. I walked down the long, dark hallway with my sharingan still activated. When I got to Akiyos door, I slowly opened it. The door creaked, which made me stop immediately before it could disturb Akiyo.

I sighed a sigh of relief when I saw he was still asleep. His room was, of course, different from Akiras. It was plain blue and black, with plaid bed sheets. He had a small desk to the left of his room that held a couple books and note books. The academy has gotten harder since Sakura and I were there, so Akiyo studied a lot. Still, as expected, he got all A's. He was a ten year old genius.

I walked over to the bed where he was laying. His shoulder length, light black hair was sprawled on his pillow under him as he lay on his back. His covers were around his waist, so I gradually pulled them back up to his neck. He didn't move at all.

His breathing was calm and collected. I swallowed as I continued to look at him. I remembered how when I was little, I would always sneak into Itachis room when he slept. This was when I was probably four or five years old. But I remembered always tapping Itachi's shoulder, and he would wake up instantly.

"_Sasuke? What is it?" _

"_Big brother...im scared. Can I sleep with you?"_

"_No."_

"_But why?!"_

"_Because you need to grow up, Sasuke. Your not a baby anymore, its time to start acting like a big boy."_

"_But...Itachi..."_

Then I'd begin to cry.

"_Ugh. Fine, but only for tonight. You hear me?"_

"_Yes! Thank you so much big brother!"_

"_Yeah, yeah, just don't take all of the covers like you always try to do...."_

I sighed and closed my eyes. Those were the good old days, before the tragedy with the clan. The more I thought about Itachi, the more I hated him for killing them. It was still hard for me to understand why he killed them. He used to be the big brother I looked up to, and just randomly one day he turned into the person I hated most in the world. It didn't make sense to me, and it never would.

I opened my eyes to look at Akiyo. I felt my body tense up as Itachi's son lay in front of me. I remembered when I had first come back to the village, to be with Sakura, when I was around Akiyo alone most of the time when Sakura was doing errands for Lady Tsunade. I remembered the more I was around him, the more I hated him. He looked just like Itachi, and it made me angry. When I looked at Akiyo, I looked at Itachi. Sometimes I still felt that way. When I held him that first day he was born, I didn't feel hatred. I felt like I could possibly love my nephew. But the more his face began to shape and look like Itachi's, the more I couldn't stand to be around him. Of course I never told Sakura, she would think I had issues. Which I probably did, but that didn't matter.

I clenched my fists as I looked at Akiyo. I was supposed to love him like my own son, this is what I promised Sakura, but how could I love someone who looked exactly like my brother? Sometimes, it got to the point where it took everything in me not to strangle the child. I could easily kill him, it wouldn't be hard. But as I hesitated, a new feeling came over me. Sympathy. It was not Akiyo's fault his father was Itachi. How could I blame him for looking like him? It was in his genes.

I could control myself, and I would. He was my...son. And I had to love him. I did love him, although at times I might have to convince myself.

Akiyo groaned as he flipped over to his stomach, grasping the pillow tight under his head. I sighed a tired sigh. It was time for me to return to bed with Sakura before she woke up.

I turned on my heels towards the door and walked quietly. As I was walking, I noticed a whole bookshelf filled with kunai and shuriken. Akiyo was determined to be a good fighter, and I had to give him props for that. He was a lot like Naruto, he always pushed himself. But then again, he was always around Naruto when Naruto wasn't with Hinata. Naruto had been around Hinata a lot lately since she is pregnant with their first child.

They had gotten together three years ago after dating for so long. I remember the look on Narutos face when Hinata finally told him she liked him. I couldnt believe it took so long, I mean any smart person would have guessed that Hinata liked him. But then again, Naruto doesn't really fall under the "bright" category. I was surprised it took them so long to finally decide on having a baby. I rolled my eyes. Great, another Naruto running around here. He was surely to have ADD.

Naruto was sure to have a busy life after it was born though. Taking care of a child, PLUS being the hokage would be a BIG job. He was already complaining about how much paperwork he had to do as the hokage, Lady Tsunade just laughed at him and said "its your problem now, HOKAGE." I had to admit, it was pretty funny seeing Narutos face everyday he walked into the office to see a stack of papers.

I reached Akiyos door and opened it so I could slide myself out. Of course, it would creak as the door opened. When I was able to slide myself out, I sighed a sigh of relife, hoping that I didnt wake Akiyo. I looked back in his room, only to be shot down.

He was looking at the door, sat up in his bed. He rubbed his eyes. "Dad?" he asked peering out of his tired eyes.

I sighed as I opened the creaky door. I would remind myself to fix it later. "Hey, son." I said walking into the room.

Akiyo yawned. "Something wrong?" he asked simply, sounding like Itachi when he said the words. A feeling went through my body, although I don't know what feeling you'd call it.

"No," I said calmly and quietly. "I couldn't sleep, so I just wanted to check on you and Akira."

Akiyo sighed and rubbed his right eye. "Oh." he said quietly.

"Yeah," I said smiling. "Go back to sleep, I didnt meant to wake you up." I said turning to go outside of the door.

"Dad?" Akiyo asked from behind me. I turned to look at him, my hand on the knob.

"Yes?"

"Can we talk for a minute?" he asked, his eyes wide open now. He still had my eyes, even after all this time.

"Uh, sure." I said turning back around. "About what?"

"The genin exams." Akiyo said as if he were nervous. "I wanted to talk to you about them."

"Cant we talk tomorrow?"

"I'd really rather we talk now...please." Akiyo said yawing. He looked up at me with wide eyes. I smiled the realist smile I could and walked to him. I sat on the bed next to him, he folded his legs to make room for me.

"What's got you troubled?" I asked. "We cant talk long, you have school tomorrow."

"Yeah," Akiyo agreed. "Well, I was wondering if they were hard."

"Hard? As in difficulty?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." I said scratching a place on my chin. "No, not really. You just have to know the jutsu that they require you to know to graduate. You know all the jutsu they talk about in class, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you'll be fine." I said patting Akiyos leg. "When are those exams anyway?"

"Next week." Akiyo said sighing. "I just want to pass."

"Don't worry, buddy. Im sure you will." I said yawning a yawn of my own. I would have to return to my own bed soon, I had a mission to go on tomorrow...

"Are you going to come watch me?" Akiyo said with a bit of hopefulness in his tone.

"Im sure we will," I said standing up off of Akiyos bed. "If im not busy, ill be there. I know your mother is going to go. And Akira may be there."

"I want you to be there..." Akiyo said quietly, almost in a mutter.

"Me? Why do you want me to be there so bad?" I asked. Akiyo looked at me with hope in his eyes.

"I want you to be proud of me." he said. "Thats why I practice so hard. Mom always tells me I'm a genius...I've never heard it from you...." Akiyo said, his tone sad.

My eyes widened. He was acting like me as a child. About how my father would always favor Itachi, and say 'thats my boy.'. I so BADLY wanted father to say that to me. It was like that all over again, except Akiyo didn't have to compete with an older brother.

I smiled and ruffled his hair. "I _am _proud of you, Akiyo." I said. Akiyo smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes. But remember to train hard so you won't let me down. Can you do that?"

"Yeah!" Akiyo said excitedly. I was surprised at his enthusiasm. He was usually quite and collected, but he was awfully excited now. I liked it though.

"Good boy." I said. "Now I have to get to bed. I have a mission to go on, and you have school." I said walking towards the door. "I know you'll make me proud at the exams."

"I'll try." Akiyo said.

"You'll make it." I said stepping in the hallway. "Now go to sleep so you can do good in school tomorrow."

"Okay." Akiyo said laying back down in his bed, he pulled the covers to his chin. "Night dad."

I smiled. "Night, Son."


	3. He should know

**Authors note: **Yeah this chapter wasn't the most interesting thing in the world, but hey, you gotta have a little bit of fillers. And plus, this story is more laid back then the other one. But yeah. Review.

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"Sasuke, get up." A voice whispered right in my ear. I moaned as I opened my eyes and looked past the black forest of hair that was in my eyes. I could see emerald eyes peering into mine, as she took her cold hand and brushed the hair out of my eyes. She smiled a warm smile that caused me to smile as well. "Get up, sweetie. You need to take the kids to school. Their ready, waiting for you. I have to get to the hospital." she said gently and calmly. I yawned and opened my eyes wider. Thats when I realized she was bent down at the side of my bed, she was dressed in her white nurse uniform.

I nodded. "I'm gettin up." I said having another yawn. Sakura smiled and kissed my cheek.

"You need to report to Naruto to tell him your going on your mission. Make sure you tell Akira your going to be gone, you know how she is when you leave..." Sakura said almost rolling her eyes. She was smiling though. "I love you." she said.

"Love you too," I said sitting up in bed. Sakura walked to the door knob and grabbed a small medic pack. She threw it over her shoulder, like a purse.

"You will be home for dinner, right?" she asked not looking at me.

I nodded and rubbed my eyes. "Yes."

"Okay good." she said opening the door. "Love you, take the kids to school. Careful on your mission." she said walking out of the door.

"Will do." I said sleepily. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and rested my elbows on my knees. I could see the sunlight gazing in the room. It was pretty early, I could tell. But being a ninja, I was used to waking up early. I was just a little tired since I woke up last night to check on the kids.

"Daddy!" a familiar, high pitched voice screamed as I looked up. Akira was standing in the doorway, her magenta hair tied up in a tight bow and her wearing a yellow dress that reached her knees. She threw her backpack down and ran to me at full speed. I flexed my chest right before she hit it, knocking me backwards. She threw her arms around my neck and laughed. "Daddy, im glad your awake!" Akira exclaimed, her voice like bells. "I missed you!"

"We just went to sleep, Akira." I said wrapping my arms around her tiny seven year old body. She leaned back to look into my eyes. Her dark green eyes were sparkled with happiness and joy.

"I still missed you!" she exclaimed. I smiled. Akira was such a daddy's girl. She always wanted to be with me. She loved Sakura, but it was like she favored me.

"Alright, alright. I missed you too." I said resting her on my lap. She bounced with excitement and joy. I put a hand on her thigh to stop her from bouncing. She looked up at me with a giant grin. "Alright, Akira. Daddy has to get ready so he can take you and Akiyo to school. So I need you to go wait in the living room."

Akira frowned. "But I just got to see you!" she pouted.

"Akira, its okay. Im your daddy, you'll get to see me a lot more." I said reassuring.

"I don't care..." Akira said crossing her arms. "Thats not enough!"

I sighed. "Fine. How about when I get back from my mission, me and you will go get some ice cream after dinner. What do you say?"

Akiras eyes got large. "Your going on a mission today?"

"Yes. So I want you to be extra good for your mother." I said in a warning tone. "Can you please do that for me?"

"When will you be back?" Akira asked ignoring my question.

"Before dinner. We can go get ice cream afterwards. Is that cool?" I asked. Akira sighed then nodded.

"Okay." she said sadly. "But only cause you offered."

I laughed at her cute statement. "Alright. Well go wait with your brother, ill be out in a minute."

"Kay'!" Akira yelled jumping off of my lap. She ran out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her, and leaving her backpack in the middle of the floor. I sighed. She was a handful sometimes, but I loved her to death.

I stood up and stretched my arms and legs out. It always felt good to stretch in the mornings. I rubbed the side of my face as I walked over to the small closet. I took out the first shirt I saw, which just so happened to be a short sleeved uchiha shirt that Hinata was kind enough to sew for me. It was navy blue and had a small uchiha symbol on the back. I slipped it on over my head and adjusted it. Then I slid off my pants, replacing them with black ninja pants. I slid on my black sandals and tied on my leaf village headband. I remembered when they first handed me the new headband, of course that was years ago so it wasn't so new. Although, every time I wore it, I always thought of it as new.

I sooted out some tangles in my hair, having it the usual way I always had it. Another yawn escaped my mouth and I walked over to the door. I picked up Akira's backpack and threw it over my shoulder. I opened the door, bringing myself into the lit hallway. I groaned as I saw every single light in the house on.

"Akira, Akiyo! Why are the lights on?" I yelled annoyed.

"Sorry, Daddy!" Akira shouted from the living room. "We were playing 'who can turn all the lights off the fastest'! It's a good ninja game, right?"

"No. Its not." I said loud enough for her to hear. "This stuff costs money." I said walking down the hallway, turning off all the lights as I made my way to the living room. I stepped into the living room to see Akiyo sitting calmly on the couch, while Akira was standing on it. I sighed. "Akira, get off of the couch. You know better."

"Sorry." she apologized jumping off of the couch. Akira could get a little rowdy at times. She ran over to me and grabbed my hand. "Are we ready to leave now, daddy?" she asked.

"Yes. Here," I said handing her the little pink backpack. Akira smiled and took it from me, throwing it over her shoulder. I looked from her to Akiyo. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Akiyo said calmly. He stood up and had his backpack securely over his shoulders. Akira held firmly onto my left hand, taking two of my fingers into her tiny palms.

"Akiyo, you better hold Daddy's hand so you can be safe!" Akira exclaimed happily.

"Im too old to hold his hand." Akiyo said annoyed. "Can we just go already?"

I sighed. He was in his quiet, serious mood. I called it 'the Itachi' mood. "Yes. C'mon, Akira." I said walking to my kunai pouch that lay on a wooden table. I tied it to my leg, of course with difficulty since Akira wouldnt let go of my hand if our lives depended on it, and walked to the door. Akira and Akiyo following behind me closely.

We walked out of the medium sized house, and I locked it behind us. Then I turned around and began leading the kids to the academy.

"Daddy," Akira said from beside me.

"Yeah?"

"Did you go to the academy when you were a kid?" she asked curiously. I nodded.

"Yeah, I did. So did your mother." I said looking at her. "It is very important that you do well in the academy. It could affect how good of a ninja you become."

"Did the hokage go to the academy too?" she asked. I smiled.

"Yes he did. In fact, he was on our squad." I said remembering the good old days when Naruto and I used to fight constantly. We were always at each others throats. Sometimes I miss those days. We actually got along for the most part now, unless he wanted to try and say he was stronger than me. Hokage or no Hokage, I could beat him.

"Really?" Akiyo asked interested from behind me. "How come you never told us?"

"You never asked." I said simply.

"Wow...hes so smart, I bet he passed the academy like it was nothing.." Akira said in total amazement.

I couldn't help but laugh at that one. "Yeah, hes _real _smart." I snorted.

"Sarcasm." Akiyo pointed out. "How was Naruto in the academy?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing, it doesn't matter." I knew I shouldn't bad mouth the hokage, even if it was Naruto.

"C'mon, daddy, tell us!" Akira said bouncing up and down. I sighed. I couldnt help it. I loved to make fun of Naruto.

"Lets just say that he failed the genin exams, _three times._" I said smiling. Akiyo and Akira gasped.

"Really!? No way!" Akira exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Akiyo asked in amazement. "How did he become hokage if he couldnt even pass the genin exams?"

"He improved." I said seriously, all the humor gone. "Thats what happens if you work hard."

Akiras hand tightened in mine. "Im gonna work hard and become a medic ninja like mommy!" she exclaimed.

"Good." I said smiling down at her.

"Im gonna work hard too." Akiyo said hotly. I nodded my head in approval.

"Good, I hope you guys do." I said. We walked in silence the rest of the way, passing by shops and people. Many people stopped to look at Akiyo and how much he looked like Itachi. Some people in the village weren't too fond of Akiyo, while others liked him. Akiyo never paid any attention to them, so he never knew about people not liking him. We had planned on keeping it to where he didn't know. We both wanted Akiyo to have a normal childhood, one of which Itachi and I didnt really have. Or me, anyway.

We finally reached the academy and walked in. Akira let go of my hand and stepped in front of me. She reached her arms up like a three year old child until I picked her up. She pecked a small kiss on my lips and hugged my neck.

"Love you, Daddy." she said.

"I love you, Akira." I said placing her down on the floor. "Your mother will come pick you up."

"Remember that you owe me ice cream." Akira said her eyebrows lowering as if she was going to kill me if I forgot.

"I wont forget." I promised. She smiled and turned to walk to her class. I looked over at Akiyo who was standing beside me. "I don't suppose you want a hug, big boy." Akiyo looked up at me with one eyebrow raised. I smiled and ruffled his light black hair. "Have a good day."

"Hn," Akiyo said walking past me to the direction of his classroom. I sighed as I turned and exited the academy.

Then I made me way across the academy, to the hokages office. I walked in the door and up the stairs, getting to Narutos office. I knocked twice when he finally said 'come in'.

I opened the door to see Shikamaru and Ino, hand in hand. They looked back at me and smiled. "Bout time you got here." Ino said smiling.

I rolled my eyes as I approached Narutos desk. He finished signing a paper, then looked up at me. "I still don't know why your making me go with them." I said annoyed. "Its not like the mission is hard."

"No, but they could use an extra hand. That's where you come in." Naruto said grinning largely "their not exactly 'hyped' up about going with you either."

"Hn," I said stepping back. Glanced at me and sighed.

"You know, if he doesn't want to go, don't make him. Ino and I can take care of ourselves..." Shikamaru said, dragging his voice like always.

"What, so you guys can sit there making out all day? No thanks." Naruto said grimacing. "Sasuke will go with you. No exceptions."

I sighed. "Whatever."

"You know, you could work on your attitude." Naruto said raising an eyebrow to me. I raised an eyebrow right back to him, as if he was crazy.

"Oh yeah"- I began but got cut off my Shikamaru.

"Can we please just recap the mission? I want to get it over with as soon as possible...we need to get Mai from the sitters as soon as possible." Shikamaru said, looking at Ino. Ino nodded.

"Yes, they charge us by the hour. Can you believe that?" Ino asked surprised. Mai was their six year old daughter. Akira and Mai often played with each other. The little girl had long, black hair that she got from Shikamaru and pale blue eyes that she got from Ino. She was a cute little girl. She had been sick lately, so she hadn't been going to school. I knew this because Akira came home saying that she could play with her until she got better. But that was like a week ago.

"Alright, your mission is to head to the little village a couple miles from here and help them rebuild a house that got destroyed by a really bad storm. The rebuilding is Sasuke and Shikamaru's job. Ino, your job is to watch the children while the parents help them rebuild. Got it?" Naruto asked shifting some of his paperwork the right of him.

"Got it." Ino said, answering for all of us.

"Alright, now get going." Naruto said taking another paper off of the top of a giant stack. Shikamaru and Ino walked out of the room together, me being the last one to get to the door.

"Sasuke, wait a minute." Naruto said before I was fully out the door. I turned to look at him.

"What?" I asked, just wanting to get this mission over with.

"Come here for a sec."

"If your trying to get me to do some of your paper work again"-

"No, I wanted to talk to you about Akiyo." Naruto said looking up at me. I sighed and walked back into the room. I approached the small, familiar desk. It took Naruto a moment before he continued to speak. He laid his pen to his side and folded his hands together. "So, how is he?" he asked.

"Hes fine. Why?" I asked sticking my hands in my pockets.

"Just wondering. I havent seen him in a couple days." Naruto said. I rolled my eyes.

"You just saw him yesterday."

"I did?"

"Yeah." I said raising my eyebrow.

"Oh." Naruto said laughing. "I must have forgot."

"Yeah, get to the point." I said firmly. Naruto raised an eyebrow but continued:

"I think you should talk to Akiyo about Itachi." Naruto said almost in a mutter. He said it quietly because he must have thought id snap at him. Which, he was right.

"What? No." I said harshly. "He doesnt need to know about him."

"But when he gets older, he'll find out eventually." Naruto said in a 'factly' tone. "Might as well let him know now, so maybe he wont be so mad or shocked when he finds out more about it."

"He won't find out." I said turning away. "I'm going on my mission now."

"What are you so afraid of? Doesnt Akiyo have a right to know who his real father is?" Naruto asked. "At first, I was all for your plan about not letting Akiyo know. But when I think about it more, he'll find out eventually. You can't hide it forever."

"It can be hidden forever, and will be." I said firmly. "Besides, Akiyo is too young to know now. Hes looked at me as his father all this time, how can I just all of a sudden tell him that im not?"

"Well, you think it'll be easier the older he gets?" Naruto asked with anger in his tone. "Sasuke, you should do it."

I sighed, giving in. There was no way I was going to get Naruto to stop arguing, and I wanted to get off of this subject. "Fine, I'll think about it. Okay? Stop bugging me."

"Are you lying?"

"No." I lied. "I'll think about it and talk to Sakura. Thats all I can promise."

"Fine." Naruto said simply. "Careful on your mission."

"Yeah, yeah." I said. Then I walked out the door.


	4. Dinner

The mission went by smoothly and easily. I was home before dinner, just like I promised Sakura, and got smothered in kisses and hugs from Akira as soon as I stepped foot in the door. After pulling myself away from Akira, I traveled to the bathroom to take a quick shower while Sakura was preparing dinner. I had gotten some tiny splinters on my ring and index fingers on my right hand when messing with the wood to rebuild the building on the mission. I pulled them out without a flinch and just covered the small wounds with band-Aids. It was no big deal.

I got dressed in some comfortable night pants and a white t-shirt. I couldn't help but look at the muscles that showed through the tight shirt in my mirror. I didn't mean to be conceited, but I was pretty buff. I guess all those missions and ninja training would do it to you.

After I tried my hair and soothed out some tangles, I made my way into the living room where Akiyo and Akira were sitting quietly, doing homework on the couch. Well, Akira was drawing, but Akiyo was doing homework. Akira smiled at me when I walked into the room, but Akiyo stayed focused on his papers.

"Daddy, see what im drawing?" Akira asked waving the small white paper in the air. I walked over and took the paper gently from her and saw that she had drawn our whole family. Me, Sakura, Akiyo and herself. Then I noticed another small human on the side of the paper.

"Who's this?" I asked pointing to the small human.

"Daddy! That's Onari!" Akira shouted stabbing her finger at the small human baby on the corner of the paper. I smiled.

"Oh. I should have known that." I said. Akira crossed her arms and smiled.

"Daddy doesn't even know his own son." she said laughing. I laughed too and ruffled her magenta hair. I sat down next in the middle of her and Akiyo. She crawled onto my lap and rested her head on my shoulder. I was used to this whenever I sat on the couch, she usually did it.

"Dad," Akiyo said bringing my attention to him. I looked over, but he was still concentrated on his homework. "When release for a genjutsu doesn't work, what is another way you can break it?" he asked looking at me this time.

"Well, if you have a teammate, they can channel their chakra into your body, therefore breaking the jutsu." I said answering the obvious question. "But if your alone, you can't really do anything at all."

"Alright, thanks." Akiyo said writing something down on the paper he was working on.

"Why? Is that a question on your homework?" I asked trying to make conversation with the boy.

"Yeah." he answered quietly.

"They didn't talk about it in class?"

"Well, a little. But I forgot." Akiyo admitted.

"Ah," I said nodding.

"Daddy, guess what I learned in school!" Akira shouted happily. I looked down at her.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"I learned about the clone jutsu!" She exclaimed. "I think we're gonna start practicing it!"

I smiled at her. "That's great, Akira."

"Yeah I know!" she said happily. She started bouncing. "Im so happy!"

"Sasuke," Sakura called from the kitchen. I looked in her direction, as if she was standing there looking at me. "Will you come help me set the table?"

"Yeah." I called back. Akira frowned but crawled off of my lap. She scooted to the side of the couch as I stood up. Akira sighed from beside me and took out a folded piece of paper and began coloring on it with the crayons that laid all over the coffee table.

I walked into the kitchen to see Sakura stirring a large pot on the stove and making tea at the same time. Women are incredible beings, aren't they?

She was still wearing her hospital uniform, but with an apron tied to her. Her big stomach that held my son was just in front of her, calm as could be. Onari hardly ever kicked her. Akira never did, or from what I knew. Akiyo used to all the time, from what she told me. Funny how that works.

I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her enlarged stomach. I kissed her cheek as she smiled. "Hey, baby." she said happily.

"Hey," I said holding her for a moment. I watched her stir the big pot of noodles in front of me. I noticed they were soba noodles. "Soba? You hardly ever make soba." I pointed out squeezing her into a half hug.

She looked at me. "Well, sometimes I do. Tonight just seemed like a good night. I was in the cooking mood." she smiled showing her drop dead gorgeous smile.

"Works for me." I said kissing her lips. I let her go and calmly walked over to the cabinet, that held our family eating bowls. I reached into a drawer and got out everyone a pair of chopsticks as well. I set them all around the table quickly, then got some cups to put the hot tea in. I laid napkins by everyone's bowls and just like that, the table was set.

Sakura turned around to take a break from stirring. She smiled. "Your always quick at setting the table."

"Well, I am a ninja." I said giving her a smile in return. Sakura sighed a sigh like a school girl seeing a hot guy for the first time. She nodded.

"You're my ninja," she said being flirtatious. I laughed. She looked at me then at the table. Then her gaze met my hands. She gasped. "Your hurt?" she asked.

I looked down at my hand to see the band-Aids I had covered the splinter wounds with. I looked up at her and waved my hand in the air as if I were swatting at a fly.

"No, its nothing. Just a few splinter wounds." I said simply, smoothly.

"Honey, those could get infected." she said approaching me. She took my right hand into hers and removed the band-Aids, revealing small wounds.

I raised an eyebrow to her. "Sakura, its fine. Don't worry about it."

"Well, they don't look serious but I can heal them for you." she said.

"Don't use your chakra on stupid things like this." I said rolling my eyes. But she ignored me as green chakra came to the palms of her hand. She held my right hand with her left, and used her right hand to heal the small wounds. They went away instantly.

She looked at the band-Aids that had some blood stains on them. She raised her eyebrow to me. "They might be small but they were still bleeding."

"I told you, its no big deal. But thank you." I said pulling my hand out of hers.

She smiled. "No problem." then she turned around and returned to her pot of soba noodles. "Call the kids in here." she ordered. I obeyed and stepped to the kitchen doorway.

"C'mon guys, time to eat." I said. Akira jumped up immediately, while it took Akiyo a second to stop from doing his homework. But he was always like this. Akira ran past me and sat in the wooden chair that she usually sat in. She was bouncing, just like normal. Akiyo trailed in after her, sitting in his usual chair as well.

"Oh, boy, oh boy!" Akira screamed in joy. "What's for dinner?"

"Akira, lower your voice," Sakura said turning to her. She was holding the pot with a pot handle and she had a plastic spoon in her left hand. "We're having soba noodles and rice." She said answering Akira's question.

"We almost never have soba!" Akira shouted. "Is this a special day or something?"

"No, I just decided to cook it." Sakura said smiling. She reached down and filled Akira's bowl with the noodles, then went around filling everyones dish. As soon as she filled mine, I sat down silently. I looked over at Akiyo, who was just as calm and content as could be, waiting for his rice.

Sakura filled everyones little bowl with rice and everyones cup with hot tea. Then she sat down and sighed, relieved her cooking was done. "Go ahead guys, you may eat now." she said smiling.

"Yay!" Akira exclaimed, digging into her soba. She almost used her hands, but Sakura gave her a warning look, telling her she needed to act like a little lady. Akira stopped then and ate with manners. I smiled.

"So, how was your day, sweetie?" Sakura asked looking at Akiyo. Akiyo looked at her, chewing some noodles quietly with his mouth closed.

"It was normal." he answered taking a drink of his tea.

"Learn anything?" she asked. Akiyo nodded.

"We learned some things about substitution and genjutsu. But really, we are just trying to review for the genin exams next week." Akiyo said turning his gaze to me. "It appears we are going to be tested on the clone jutsu." he said.

I laughed. "Get Naruto to help you out with that one."

"Sasuke!" Sakura snapped. "Stop it." she said, her eyebrows lowered.

"Sorry." I said smiling, holding back another laugh. Sakura looked at Akiyo and smiled a fake smile.

"You'll do fine, honey." she said patting his hand that was on the table next to his bowl. She looked over at Akira. "And how was your day, honey?"

"We might be learning the clone jutsu!" She exclaimed. "And daddy's gonna take me to get ice cream!"

Sakura shot a glance at me. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah! For leaving on a mission!" she sang.

"Oh I see, well don't you think it would be nice to take Akiyo too?" Sakura asked Akira, but the question was directed to me.

"Uh, do you want to go, Akiyo?" I asked looking at him. Akiyo shook his head while slurping up some noodles.

"I have homework to do." Akiyo said after swallowing the mouth full.

"Oh, C'mon sweetie, you work so hard on homework all day. And it would take the whole night, just about thirty minutes." Sakura said trying to change his mind. He shook his head.

"No, thank you." he said taking a drink of tea.

"Well, okay," Sakura said, her expression saddening. "If you change your mind, just let us know."

I laughed to try to lighten up the mood. "Wow, Akiyo. I've never met a kid who doesn't like ice cream."

"I do like it, I just don't want any." Akiyo said finishing his bowl of rice. "But thanks for offering."

"Well, alright." I said stuffing some soba in my own mouth. Sakura sighed and began eating her own food.

The rest of the dinner was rather silent, except for some comments Akira made about her schooling. Sakura was pretty interested, but I just kept looking at how calm Akiyo was. And the more I looked at him, the more I thought about what Naruto said. Should Akiyo know?

After dinner, I told Akira to go and put on a jacket since it got a little chilly after dark. Akiyo retreated back to his homework, declining another offer I gave to him. Sakura cleared the table and began washing dishes. I grabbed a rag and helped her by wiping off some counters.

"How was your day?" I asked, breaking a silence.

"It was good. We had a lot of patients today." Sakura said sighing. "I'll be glad when I can lay back and relax. But how was your mission?" she asked turning the question around.

"It was alright." I answered simply. "Shikamaru and Ino are annoying, though."

"You think everyone is annoying." Sakura said with humor in her tone. I smiled.

"I guess that's true."

"Is Mai still sick?" Sakura asked. "Havent seen her in the hospital for a week."

"As far as I know," I said wiping some flour off of the counter. " But I think I heard them talking about how she is getting better."

"Well good. Akira misses her." Sakura said.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"I was surprised that Akiyo didn't want ice cream." Sakura said placing a clean dish in the drying rack. She picked up another dish and began to clean it.

"I'm not. The kid is always absorbed in his homework, he doesn't know how to have fun." I said placing the rag into the soapy water. "He should be being a kid, not always school strict."

"He just wants to be a good ninja when he gets older," Sakura said defending him. "You were school strict too when you were his age."

"But I was different," I said feeling my body tense up a little. "He's actually normal."

"You were normal too, you just had stuff going on." Sakura said, her voice straining a little.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter." I said automatically wanting to change the subject. "I wish Akiyo would take it easy a little. He reminds me too much of Itachi..." I said whispering that vermins name.

"Sasuke." Sakura whispered in a warning tone. "We told each other never to say his name in this house." she said pointing her finger at me.

"I know, I know." I said. "But...Naruto brought up a point before I left the office to go on my mission today."

"Really? What point?" Sakura said talking normal again.

"He said...he said we should tell Akiyo the truth." I said getting quieter and quieter. Sakura dropped her dish back in the soapy water and turned to me, dragging her large stomach with her. Her mouth dropped open.

"No! No way! What is he thinking? How could he ever suggest that!?" Sakura asked, her face turning a light red.

"He said he would find out eventually," I said sighing. "At first, I was like 'no way' either. But then I was thinking...and he will someday, Sakura."

"No he won't!" Sakura yelled in a whisper. "Its been hidden this long, it can remain hidden! He doesn't have to know!"

"Sakura, when he gets old enough, he will find out. There is no way around it. Everyone knows that I am not his real father besides himself and Akira. Everyone else knows!" I exclaimed. "Maybe we should at least mention Itachi's name..."

"No, Sasuke." Sakura said turning to the sink and sighing. "He doesn't have to know. We should leave it alone." she picked up the dish quietly and started washing it again. I knew by the look on her face, that the conversation was over.

"Daddy, daddy!" Akira screamed running in the room. She shocked me at first, but I turned around to look at her, wearing her blue uchiha jacket that Hinata made for her, just like she made my shirt. "Are we ready to go?!" she exclaimed happily.

I sighed. "Yes."

She took my hand and began leading me out of the small kitchen. "Yay!" she screamed. "I want two scoops of blueberry and vanilla! Or, maybe I could have three scoops of vanilla, blueberry and chocolate! Or, daddy! I could even have four..." Akira rambled on, pulling me through the living room.

I glanced at Akiyo as I slipped on a jacket of my own. "Akiyo, last chance." I said. Akiyo didnt look at me, he just continued to do his homework.

"No thanks, Dad." he answered, jotting down some words on his paper.

I sighed. "Alright." I said. Then Akira led me out the door, as I closed the door behind me.


	5. Day off

**Authors note: **Hey guys. I've been reading some reviews and I saw that some of you are BEGGING me not to make Akiyo bad. Lol, well I just wanted to reassure you that Akiyo is NOT bad. Hes just rather quiet and to himself. So trust me, lol, im not making Akiyo bad. Sorry if that was a "spoiler" for anyone, but then again, its really not a spoiler...oh well. Just wanted to let you guys know. Thanks, review :)

* * *

After taking Akira to the ice-cream shop last night, we returned at about nine thirty. Akira was rather hyper from her four scooped ice cream cone that I still couldn't believe I let her talk me into buying for her. Sakura would have killed me. It took about ten minutes for her to run off SOME of her sugar rush- and believe me, when I say _run, _I mean run around the house fifty times in circles -and after that, I finally took ahold of her and told her she needed to calm down so Sakura wouldn't kill me for giving her so much ice cream before bed. I laughed at myself. I couldn't believe, Sasuke Uchiha, me, was afraid of my own wife. But with Sakura's monestrous strength, and her still getting stronger from Lady Tsunade, it was kinda scary.

Eventually, though, I was able to get Akira to bed. Of course, Akiyo went to bed willingly, it was never a mission to get him to bed. So when they were in bed, Sakura and I went into our own bedroom.

I was laying on the bed, reading a book. It was called _Ways of a ninja. _Shikamaru had recommended it to me, and if it was interesting enough to get his attention, then it had to be good. I wasn't much of the reading type, but I decided that I would read it here and there. Specifically, before bed. Sakura was in the bathroom, taking a shower. I could hear the water hit against the tub as she was in there. I was on page two of the book, and was already interested. It had started out with a great hook:

_There are many things in life we do not understand. Some bad, some good. Why do these things happen? Why do people die? How did Ninjas even become what we are today? Are we merely tools that are used for other people, or do we do things for ourselves? There are many people in this world we love and cherish. Do we do it to protect them? Or to make someone proud?_

When I had read that part, I paused before continuing to the next page. I automatically thought of my own father, and how he always favored Itachi. I wanted so bad to make him proud...but I...

I shut the book. I would read it later.

"Sasuke..." Sakura said standing in the doorway. I looked up, almost shocked to see her naked with a simple towel wrapped around her. Her hair was dripping wet and she stood there, flirtatious. She smiled at me. "Whatcha doin?" she asked biting her lip. Her emerald eyes sparkled.

"I _was _reading." I said nodding my head down at the book. Sakuras eyes followed the book while I laid it on the nigh stand next to me.

"Ah, I see." Sakura said looking back at me. "Well, how about you _read me_ now..." she said stepping out of the doorway.

"Read you?" I asked, watching her crawl up on the bed.

"Mhm..." she said crawling up to my chest, her towel wrapped around her tightly. Although she did have cleavage showing.

"It is not hard to read you at all, Sakura. Clearly, you want to have sex right now." I said raising an eyebrow as she closened her body against mine, her enlarged stomach on top of my chest.

"Go on..." she said kissing my cheek.

"Oh there's another chapter?" I asked, humorously. "Well, you are obviously physically attracted to me." I said as she kissed my neck.

"More than you can imagine.." she whispered against my neck. "But whats the climax..." Sakura smiled against my skin.

I sighed and grabbed her wrists. I pulled her back, looking into her confused eyes. "We're not doing this." I said with an eyebrow raised.

Sakura's face slumped. "But why?" she pouted.

"Your too far along pregnant to be getting into sex." I said glancing at her stomach. "When you have Onari, then we will."

"When we have Onari, we will be busy all the time. Not to mention Akiyo and Akira"-

"We'll make time." I said interrupting her. "I just don't think it's a good idea."

Sakuras eyebrows lifted and she sniffled, pretending to cry. "Its because im fat, isn't it?" she asked, her lip quivering.

I rolled my eyes. "No, Sakura, you are not fat. And don't try to play the guilt trip, you already used that one when you were pregnant with Akira." I said pushing her to the side of me.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed, her act gone. She dug her face into my neck and kissed it again. "I want you..." she whispered against my skin.

"I want you too, but we're being responsible with this. Now quit it." I said firmly. "Your acting childish."

"Ugh, fine." Sakura said pulling away. She crawled off of the bed and made her way to the dresser. She pulled the drawers open harshly and pulled some items of clothing out of them.

"What are you doing?" I asked crossing my arms and sitting up in the bed.

"Im gonna go get dressed." Sakura said annoyed. "Since you ruin everything for me." she said looking at me with an angry face.

I held back a laugh. "I'm doing it because its right." I said accidently letting humor escape in my voice.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up," she snapped slamming the drawer shut. "I should make you sleep on the couch..." she muttered, obviously thinking I didn't hear it.

"If that's what you want," I said throwing my legs over the side of the bed.

She looked at me with mean eyes. "Don't. You. Dare." she said opening the door. I smiled at her.

"I love you." I said slyly.

She growled and walked out the door.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up alone. I glanced over at my clock, and noticed it was about ten o'clock. Which meant that Akira and Akiyo were at school and Sakura was probably at the hospital. I was surprised Sakura actually took the kids, considering I declined her sex last night. She was pretty mad, she wouldn't even cuddle with me in the bed like she usually did. I couldn't help but snicker to myself.

I dragged myself out of bed, and made my way to the kitchen. There, I cooked up some miso soup and a bowl of rice for breakfast. I ate it slow, since I had no missions today, I didn't have to rush like I usually did every morning. After breakfast, I got dressed into my normal outfit and slipped on my shoes. Since Sakura was working, the kids were at school, and I had no missions, today would be pretty much boring. _Might as well go train _I thought.

I walked through the quiet streets of the village. Not many people were awake yet, although there were always those early birds. I walked past a couple who was pushing their infant baby in a baby carriage. It was pink, so I automatically assumed it was a girl. They paid no attention to me as the father looked down at his daughter and smiled. The baby simply cooed back at him.

Many people did not pay any attention to me as I passed through the streets, although the ones that did, did not seem to care much. Except for a couple of the girls, but I had always been favored by women. Not to brag, or anything.

I even received some dirty looks. Even after all this time being back, some of the villages still weren't particularly fond of me. It took a year to even be accepted back into the "group" of my teammates who were once the rookie nine. Of course Sakura and Naruto accepted me immediately, besides the fact that Naruto and I had a little fight outside of the village since he couldn't stand not fighting me another minute. Lets just say the terrain outside of the village, changed real fast due to Rasengan and Chidori tactics. No one won the fight, we just hospitalized each other. And even the nurses were giving me dirty looks as they treated me. However, I felt confident now that I had gained most of the village's trust back.

When I approached the training field, It was no surprise to see Hinata hard at work. Even being pregnant, she still trained often. She was about six months along, so it wasn't so bad. Of course she took it easy, but she never stopped until she was completely tired. Her being he hokages wife, you would think Naruto would give her simpler missions than the rest of us. But she got the same amount of treatment when it came to her ninja life, and she had to be strong for them.

I cleared my throat. "Hinata," I said.

Hinata turned around from the small tree stump she had blasted many holes in with her gentle palm techniques. "Oh, Sasuke." Hinata said, her voice high and shrilled. Ever since her and Naruto got together, she lost her stuttering problem. She was still a little shy, though. "Good morning." she said.

"Good morning." I replied. "Your out here awfully early, aren't you?"

"I try to come out here early. I like how cool it is in the mornings." she said turning back to her stump. She summoned chakra to her palms and began hitting the stump again.

"I see." I said watching her blow chunks into the log.

"And you are here early as well," Hinata said finally demolishing the log. She turned to me, her pale eyes lightened. Her abnormal stomach stuck out in front of her, but of course she wasn't as big as Sakura. "You have no missions today?"

"No." I said walking closer to her. "As much as I hate to say it, todays going to be boring."

"Well, it is always good to get a day off." Hinata said smiling. "Maybe that is what Naruto is trying to manage."

"Probably." I said sighing. "And you? No missions for you today?"

"No." Hinata answered. "Im free today too. And Naruto already said I wasn't aloud to leave the village, so there's not much to do in the village."

"Because your six months?" I asked. She nodded. I nodded back at her. "Have you found out what it is?"

"It's a boy." Hinata said. "Lady Tsunade told us two weeks ago." she smiled as she glanced down at her stomach.

"Another Naruto, huh..." I said raising my eyebrow to her stomach. "That'll be a handful."

"Naruto wanted a boy." Hinata said happily.

"Well, don't get too excited. It could be a girl." I said rolling my eyes. "Thats what we thought Akiyo was until he came out."

"Yes I remember. I thought Sakura was having a daughter...we were so excited!" Hinata exclaimed. "But anyway, how is Akiyo?"

"He's fine."

"Doing well in school?"

"Way too good for his age," I said placing my hands in my pockets. "The boys a work-a-hillock."

Hinata giggled. "Well, he is smart." she complimented.

"He is." I agreed. "Too smart for his own good."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Nothing." I said smiling at her. "I'm happy for you and Naruto. As much as it pains me to say it." I said laughing.

Hinata laughed. "Naruto tells me you guys still bicker."

"Oh yeah." I said nodding. "Probably will until we both die."

"Probably," Hinata agreed with a smile. "When is Sakura due to have her baby?"

"Anytime now." I said closing my eyes.

"Have you picked out a name?"

"Onari."

"That's a nice name." Hinata exclaimed happily. I opened my eyes to look at hers. She was truly happy that we were having another child, yet she seemed even more happy she was having one of her own. This was her first, so she was in for an experience.

"Sakura picked it out." I said continuing off her last statement. "I got to pick out Akira's so it was only fair, I guess."

"Akira is beautiful."

"Thanks." I said smiling. "Shes a handful too."

Hinata laughed. "If you ever need help with her, let me know. I can watch her for you."

"If you can keep up with her!" I snorted. Hinata and I laughed for a good moment. Then I looked at her. "Well, I guess im going to head off."

"Are you sure? Didn't you come here to train?" Hinata asked, her face becoming serious. "I can give you room..."

"No, its okay. You can train here, I think im just going to lay back today." I said putting my hands behind my head. "It is my day off, might as well relax."

Hinata nodded. "I guess thats true."

I nodded back and turned around. "See you."

"Tell Akiyo and Akira I said 'hi" Hinata said from behind me.

"Will do." I said back to her.


	6. Burns and Flashbacks

**Authors note:** Hey sorry for taking so long to update. I had a friend spend the night Friday, and then on Saturday I went to my other friends house to spend the night and celebrate a birthday party, during the day Saturday I was with my aunt ALL DAY trying to get a new car ( you know how that goes ) and when I got home I went straight to my friends house. Then Sunday morning, I had church. Lol. That was probably the busiest weekend of my life, but its over now. So I can start updating again! YAY! Lol. Now that youve had a dose of my personal life ( which you don't really care about ), heres chapter 6!!

* * *

I sighed as I tapped my foot impatiently. It was three o'clock. Time for Akiyo and Akira to get out of school. So why were they taking so long? It feels like I've been waiting for hours, when in reality I had probably been waiting thirty minutes. But all the other kids seemed to have poured out at exactly three o'clock. So where were mine?

Right when I was about to go in, Akira flew out of the academy door. She had a big grin on her face as she flew to me at full speed. I groaned as I noticed her shirt was covered in blue and pink paint...

"Daddy! Daddy!" Akira screamed reaching me. She held a wobbly piece of paper. "I painted something at school today!" she exclaimed.

"Paint?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to be studying ninja skills, not how to paint a picture."

"No, Daddy! It was part of our lesson! We had to paint a picture of a diagram having to do with substitution! Honestly, look!" she said shoving the paper in my hand.

I looked at the painting that was, thankfully, dry. I saw a diagram where a ninja was hiding in a tree while another ninja was attacking a log. It was pretty good for a seven year old girl.

"Thats nice," I said handing the picture back to her. "Why did it take you so long to get out here?" I demanded.

"I had to help put paint up!" she said bouncing up and down. "But I tripped and it got on my clothes..." she said tugging at the bottom of her shirt, examining the blue and pink splatters.

"Its okay. We can get you some new clothes, its about time for them anyway..." I said ruffling her hair. "But where is your brother?"

"He's in the academy yard training, still." Akira said nodding her head towards the back yard of the academy.  
I sighed. "Well go get him."

Akira gave me an annoyed sigh. "Fine." she muttered as she began to walk around the academy. But before she could get five steps in, Akiyo appeared in the doorway of the academy. I felt my eyebrows lower in worry as I saw his arms bandaged up.

"Akiyo, what in the world happened?" I demanded as he approached Akira and I. His expression was calm, as usual.

"I got into an accident. No big deal," he said trying to hide the bandaged arms behind his back.

I raised my eyebrow and reached behind his back to grab his arm gently. He flinched when I did this, so I brought it slowly so I could see it well. I then began to tear at the bandages to get a glimpse at what was under them. I gasped when I saw his arms were severely burned. Dark red and gray covered his arms from wrist, to elbow. He turned his face away so he would not look at them. Then he pulled it away, flinching as he did so. His right eye squinting at the pain.

"No big deal?" I asked looking at him. "THAT is no big deal?"

"No, it isn't. It doesn't even hurt..." Akiyo said turning his head.

"Akiyo, those are serious burns and we are going to the hospital right now." I said grabbing his forearm. I thought he would have hesitated, but he didn't. He just sighed and walked with me as I pulled him gently.

"Is big brother going to be alright?" Akira asked concerned, trying to keep up with our pace. For a moment, I forgot she was even there.

"Yes, he'll be fine." I said trying to convince myself to let go of the images of his arms. "But maybe you should go home, Akira." I said looking at her. "Youve got homework right? You should go do it. And I don't know how long we'll be at the hospital."

"But daddy"-

"Akira," I said in a warning tone. "Please listen to me. The door is unlocked, and there are snacks in the fridge if you get hungry."

"Its not even a big deal"-

"Shut up, Akiyo." I snapped at him. I looked at Akira. "Go on. Ill be back in a few."

Akira pouted but nodded. "Okay." she muttered as she began going the opposite direction.

I started to walk at a faster pace, Akiyo trailing behind me.

"How did you even accomplish this?" I asked not looking at him.

"I was practicing the fire ball jutsu..." he said quietly. "I didn't do it right."

"You think?" I asked sarcastically. I growled. "And I thought I told you not to be doing that jutsu? Your too young for it!"

"I can do it, Dad." Akiyo said with attitude in his tone. "If you'd just let me."

"If I let you, this would happen all the time! You wouldn't even have arms!" I said just noticing my tight grip on his forearm. I loosened it at once.  
Akiyo didn't reply. I felt myself walk faster until I finally got to the hospital. I rushed in and didn't even stop at the desk, I went straight to Sakuras office. I opened the door, dragging Akiyo with me.

Sakura looked up, surprised. "Sasuke?" she asked. "Akiyo?"

"Akiyos got some serious burns." I said pushing Akiyo towards Sakura. Sakuras eyes lightened with worry as she gazed at Akiyos bandaged arms. She walked around her desk, knelt down, and unwrapped them quickly, gasping when she saw the burned skin.

"Akiyo! What in the world happened!?" she said, horror in her tone.

"He was practicing the fireball jutsu." I said, answering for him.

"Fireball?" Sakura asked her tone turning angry. "Akiyo, your not allowed"-

"We can talk about it later, just heal him." I said, my own heart beating as I looked away from the burns. Sakura growled.

"Your in trouble, young man." she said raising a disappointed eyebrow at Akiyo. She summoned green chakra to her palms and began healing the burns on his arms. I watched as the burns seemed to have magically disappeared. It still sometimes amazed me at how good Sakura was at healing. I guess that is the results of when you train with Lady Tsunade.

Sakura healed until Akiyos arms where just light red. The parts where there had been gray, were of course a little darker. I felt myself sigh a sigh of relief.

Sakura sighed too and pointed to a dark red spot on his arm. "Those spots, are dead tissue. I can't do much for those yet until they heal a little on their own. But we can give you some antibiotics that will help the healing process go faster. Ill get them myself." Sakura said standing up. "Sasuke, you and Akiyo go wait in the doctors room while I go get the medicine. And Akiyo, we are going to have a talk later..." she said pointing her finger at him. "That could have been worse than it was. Do you understand that?"

Akiyo crossed his red arms, biting his lip at pain. He nodded when he got over it. I sighed.

"Alright. Thanks, Sakura." I said pulling Akiyo to my side.

Sakura smiled. "Im glad you came immediately here. Those could have got infected and-well, we wont talk about that." she said rubbing the back of her pink hair. "Ill go get that medicine. And then I want you to go home. Akiyo, there will be no training until your arms fully heal. And your not going to school tomorrow."

Akiyo gasped. "But mom"-

"No buts." Sakura snapped. "Now go." she said pointing to the door. Akiyo gave her a mean look, and stomped out of the office door. I looked at Sakura and raised an eyebrow. "He cant go to school with his arms still hurting him. It'll be good for him to rest them."

"Well, alright then. You are the nurse." I said smiling. "I was worried when I saw them."

Sakura sighed and walked around her desk. She plopped down in her chair and began signing a white piece of paper. I assumed it was the prescription for the medicine she was going to give Akiyo. "Well, he is your son. You should have been worried."

It took me a minute to reply when she said 'son'. Of course I was used to Akiyo calling me 'dad' but Sakura rarely ever came out and said 'your son'. After a minute I just nodded. "True. Ill go wait with him."

I turned around and began walking to the little white doctors room that was directly across from Sakura's office. I opened the door to see Akiyo sitting on top of the metal table, his arms crossed and he was sitting with his legs crossed too. His expression was ticked off.

I walked and sat in the chair that was next to the metal table. Akiyo didn't look at me, he just sighed.

I decided to break the ice.

"So...how exactly did you get the fire to burn your arms?" I asked raising my eyebrows.

"I don't know." he said firmly. "It just happened."

"Why would you disobey me?" I asked calmly. "You could have gotten severely hurt, even worse than you did."

"I can do it, Dad. After all, you said you learned it by the time you were ten." he said looking at me.

"Yes," I said shifting to a new position in my seat. "I did say that, but just because I learned it at ten, doesn't mean that you will too. You want to go at your own pace. When I can help you"-

"I cant have you helping me my whole life, dad." Akiyo snapped. "Your going to have to let me take chances."

I sighed. "Your growing up, its true, Akiyo, but you are still just a kid."

Akiyo growled and turned his head away. "Whatever." he said. We sat in silence for awhile. I could hear Akiyos hard breathing, trying to calm himself down as I felt myself completely calm and relaxed. This was the first time Akiyo and I had actually "fought." it was different.

I smiled and looked down. "Your growing up fast, though. You'll be out of the house in no time."

"What?" Akiyo said turning to me. I looked up at him, his eyes were emotionless. But he didn't look mad anymore.

"I remember when you were just a 3 year old toddler. You were...cute." I said smiling. "And you will never hear me say that word again, just so we're clear."

Akiyo actually laughed. "Yeah, its weird when you say cute. Its not you at all." he said, a smile still lingering on his face. I laughed too, knowing that the fury that Akiyo had with me was gone. I liked it when Akiyo was in this mood.

"I remember at mine and your mothers wedding...I wanted to kill you that day." I said laughing.

"Why? What did I do?" Akiyo said, suddenly interested.

"Well, your mother had just come down the aisle. And I was standing there with your mother, looking into her eyes. It was a...beautiful moment. And then all of a sudden, I look over, and your in the middle of the aisle eating the rose petals that the flower girls threw out." I snorted. "I tried to get them out of your mouth, you spit them right in my face."

Akiyo started laughing hard. "Are you serious? I did that?" Akiyo asked. "What happened after that?" He said leaning forward and tucking his hands under his thighs.

"Well, im not going to lie, at the moment, I was seriously considering on throwing you." I said nudging Akiyo in the elbow with my own elbow. "Luckily, your mother started screaming 'GET THE BABY!' Oh yeah," I said leaning back in my chair and relaxing. "It was a wedding to remember."

Akiyo laughed for a good moment, then turned to me. "I cant believe that actually happened."

"Oh yeah," I said. "You were a toddler with an attitude." Akiyo and I laughed for a moment, but stopped when Sakura opened the door and strolled in. She smiled.

"What's so funny in here?" she asked, a bottle of pills in her right hand and a chart in her other.

"Oh nothing," I said standing up. "Just telling Akiyo a story."

"Oh, well good." Sakura said smiling. She handed the bottle over to me and fetched a pen out of her white coat pocket. She began scribbling on the paper then looked up at me. "Give Akiyo one as soon as you two get home. And he will need to take one everyday after school. Akiyo," she said turning to him. "Don't forget. And here is a doctors note stating that you are not to go to school tomorrow." She said tearing a paper off of the chart and handing it to Akiyo. Akiyo sighed and nodded.

"Okay." he whispered.

"Don't worry, missing one day wont be that horrible." I said reassuring. Akiyo hopped off of the table and nodded. "Thanks honey." I said smiling. She smiled back and winked. "Ill see you at home." I said. She nodded and bent down to kiss Akiyo.

"Bye honey. Please take it easy, for me." she said nodding to him. He nodded back as she ruffled his light black hair. "Ill see you when I get home. I love you."

"I love you too, mom." Akiyo answered, folding up his doctors note and stuffing it into his pocket. She stood straight and gave me a quick kiss.

"Don't let Akiyo train, please..." Sakura whispered, trying not to let Akiyo hear. I nodded.

"I wont."

She smiled. "Alright, well id better get back to work." I nodded and she left. I looked at Akiyo and sighed.

"Well, since your not allowed to train, you might as well do your homework when you get home." I said nudging him towards the door.

Akiyo looked at me and smiled as he left the small room. "Dad, my arms are too injured to do homework. I think I'd better rest." he said, of course not being serious.

I laughed. "Nice try!"

Later that night, I was laying in bed next to Sakura. Her arm was wrapped around my torso tightly, and her breasts were up against my side. My arm was wrapped around her and the other, behind my head. Everyone was asleep as I just laid awake, thinking. I thought about the wedding story that I told Akiyo today. I was happy it made him laugh, it made me laugh every time I looked back to it. I also remembered when I proposed to Sakura. I sighed as I closed my eyes...

_ "I love you, Sasuke." Sakura whispered laying on my chest. "I am thankful for you and Akiyo everyday."  
_

_ I breathed slowly and smiled as I opened my mouth to reply. "I love you too, Sakura." I said. For some reason, it was still hard to let my emotions show. I was getting better at it, but I was still closed-hearted a little. Sakura understood that, even though she always tried to get me to talk about how I feel with her. But out of all the people in the world, she'd be the only person I'd talk to. But being in this open field the way we were, made it a lot easier to tell Sakura I loved her. There was something about the open pasture that just calmed me and made me feel safe.  
_

_ "I think you'll be an excellent father to Akiyo...im so glad you have taken him on as your own. Im also glad that Hinata offered to babysit him so that we could spend the day together..." she said looking at me. She kissed my lips slightly and leaned back. "I really do love you. Your amazing."  
_

_ I smiled. "I know." I said in a matter of fact tone. She rolled her eyes.  
_

_ "Conceited much?" she asked. I smiled slyly at her, which just made her smile even larger. She kissed me again, except held it there longer. Then she leaned back and traced circles on my chest. "You complete me..." she mumbled.  
_

_ "Oh, Sakura, don't make me get cheesy." I said in a begging voice. She pursed her lips together.  
_

_ "Sasuke, just because im telling you how I really feel, doesnt mean you have to get 'cheesy'" she said rolling her beautiful green eyes.  
_

_ I smiled in return. I took her hand into mine and held it calmly. I began to play with her fingers as I looked up at the clouds. "When I look at you, I know you truly love me." I said.  
_

_ Sakura looked at me with surprise. "Well of course I do."  
_

_ "Even though I don't say it much...you do know that I...love you, truly back. Right?"  
_

_ "Of course I do, Sasuke. You don't have to say it, I can see it." she said bringing her body close to mine. "Why?"  
_

_ "Well...I've been thinking."  
_

_ "About what?"  
_

_ "About...me and you."  
_

_ "What about us?"  
_

_ "Well..." I began. "Sakura, I love you."  
_

_Sakura smiled. "I love you too."  
_

_ "I truly love you and...I want to be with you forever. As much as it hurts getting my true emotions out there, I do love you."  
_

_ Sakuras eyes teared up. "Oh Sasuke..." she said laying her head on my chest. "I want to be with you forever too."  
_

_ I leaned up, and Sakura removed her head. Sakura sat up as well and we both looked at each other. I smiled. "Can you please stand for me?" I asked.  
_

_ "Stand?" she repeated.  
_

_"Yes. Just stand up." I said. Sakura, looking confused, stood up. A gust of wind blew against her and me, causing our hair to dance in front of our faces.  
_

_ I stood to my knees and reached into my pocket. I felt the tiny black box against my fingertips as I slowly pulled it out. By the look on Sakuras face, she knew what was coming next.  
_

_ I couldn't help but snicker as I opened the box and held it in front of her. Her eyes filled with tears and they were as wide as moons. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming as she stared at the box.  
_

_ "Will you marry me, Sakura Haruno?" I asked calmly, with emotion mixed into it. Sakura screamed out in joy and threw her arms around my neck as soon as I said her last name.  
_

_"I THOUGHT YOU'D NEVER ASK!!!" she screamed burying her face into my neck. "YES! YES, SASUKE! I WILL MARRY YOU! YES!" she screamed._

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_

Isnt that just adorable? Lol. I hope you guys liked the chapter. Im going to be honest, I feel like it defnintly wasnt my best. But don't worry....ACTION IS ON ITS WAY! Lol. Thanks for reading, REVIEW PLEASE! No flames ;) Flames make me cry. Haha.


	7. It comes out

I awoke the next morning to Akira breathing down my neck. She was curled up on my chest, her small face facing mine. She was sound asleep. I looked over, Sakura was gone. Probably at the hospital working. I was glad tomorrow was Sunday, and she'd get the day off. Of course Akira and Akiyo didn't have school today, and Sakuras off days were Wednesdays and Sundays. I was still having trouble figuring out why Sakura had told Akiyo 'no school today' when it was Saturday and he wasn't going to have school ANYWAY. I sighed. Maybe she forgot, I mean afterall dealing with patients all day has got to be tiring. But I was always happy when I didn't have a mission on Wednesdays, so I could spend the day with her. Although, because of Onari, things were getting a little boring...

I shook my head and focused my attention on the sleeping child on top of me. I looked down at her and shook her a little.

"Akira..." I said being interrupted by a yawn that came out of my own mouth. "Akira, wake up." I said shaking her abruptly.

She peered open her dark green eyes and looked at me. She smiled opened her eyes a little larger, only to yawn. "Hi, Daddy." she said, her voice like tiny bells.

"Why are you in here?" I asked raising a brow. "You know your not supposed to be sleeping with me. You're a big girl now."

"I know." Akira said in a tone as if she were ashamed. "But I got scared last night and wanted to sleep with you and mommy!"

"Mommy knew about this?" I asked, annoyed that Sakura would actually let her sleep with us.

"Yeah. She said it was okay." Akira said laying her head back down on my chest. I sighed.

"Well, I'm going to talk to your mother. You're a big girl, which means you start sleeping in _your _room." I said leaning up, giving Akira the hint that I was getting up. Akira sat up and rubbed her eyes with her hand.

"Aww..." she mumbled.

I looked over at the clock. Ten o'clock a.m. I usually didnt sleep this late, and I knew I had to report to Naruto in an hour. Which meant I had to get up and get dressed, then find a babysitter to take Akiyo and Akira while I was out on whatever mission that I was needed for. We really should keep this more organized...

I'd talk to Sakura about it.

"Alright, Akira," I said turning to her. "I need you to go get dressed and wake Akiyo up." I said putting my legs over the side of the bed.

"Akiyo is already awake. He's outside." Akira said sitting next to me, kicking her legs over the side of the bed.

I groaned. "Doing what?" I asked, almost afraid to get the answer.

"Throwin' kunai at a log." Akira said biting her lip.

I slapped my palm to my forehead. "Great." I said. He knew good and well that he wasn't supposed to be training. Sakura would kill us both if she found out.

I stood up and grabbed Akira by her wrist. I led her to the hallway and pointed to her room. "Go get dressed." I demanded. When she trailed off to her room, I walked into the kitchen and opened the back door that led to the back yard. Just as Akira said, he was throwing kunai knives at a log. I shuddered as the cool air hit my bare chest, I leaned up against the door panel.

"Akiyo..." I said in a disappointed voice. I startled him, because he turned around and dropped the kunai he was holding. He gave me a smile.

"Hey Dad." he said casually.

I raised a brow. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, nothing."

"Doesn't look like 'nothing' to me." I said tapping my foot for extra effect. Now I knew why mothers loved to do it so much. It reminded me of my own mother many years ago when she'd catch me in the cookie jar. _"Sasuke...what are you doing?" "Nothin." "Doesn't look like 'nothin' to me." _then she'd tap that foot. I sighed.

"I was getting fresh air." Akiyo said trying to cover up his actions. I crossed my arms.

"You've had enough fresh air. Come inside." I demanded. Akiyo left his kunai where the were, and he came marching into the house. I closed the door tightly behind me.

He looked at me, then at the ground. "You gonna tell mom?" he asked, avoiding eye contact.

"That was one, you do it again and I will." I said looking down at him. He looked up at me.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah. Besides you weren't doing anything reckless. I'll cut you slack, don't do it again." I said strolling past him. He caught up to me and smirked.

"Okay, I won't." he said.

"Go get dressed into fresh clothes, I have to go to the hokages for a mission." I said nodding my head towards Akiyos room. Right as I did so, Akira came jetting out in a short blue dress with flip flops on.

"Kay', im ready!" she squealed excited. I sighed.

"No, your not. Akira, its cold outside. Go change."

"But dad"-

I held up my hand to cut her off. "Go. Change." I said firmly. She crossed her arms, stuck out her lip, but turned around and went back to her room, slamming the door shut. I ignored it.

After her little performance, Akiyo didn't hesitate to go get dressed. I could smell the sweat that came off of his body. He may not have been doing anything but throwing kunai, but he must have worked at it hard. But it wasn't a surprise, he did this with everything he did.

I went to my bedroom to get dressed myself. I grabbed a white shirt and black pants and dressed myself in them. The white shirt was rather old, it revealed my chest. I was surprised it still fit so well, but then again other than my forearms, I haven't grown much. Maybe a little taller, but that wasn't a big deal.

After I slipped on my shoes, I walked into the living room to see Akira dressed in a jacket, pants and a scarf. And Akiyo, dressed in a black uchiha shirt with white shorts. I smiled. It was almost the same outfit I used to wear, besides the shirt being black. But when I looked up at his face, I felt a shock of surprise go through me.

Akiyo had his hair pulled back. Exactly like Itachi's. The boy looked like Itachi when he was younger. His arms were crossed and he sat calmly on the couch. Oh my gosh, he was like a clone of the man. I can't believe I actually hesitated before I spoke. Akiyo looked at me and stayed quiet.

"Uh, er...that's a new hairstyle, huh, Akiyo?" I asked forcing myself to get Itachis image out of my head. _He is not Itachi, you idiot! _My mind forced through.

Akiyo shrugged. "Just wanted to try something new." he said short and crisp. He stood up off of the couch, Akira copying his motion. "Are we all ready?" Akiyo asked.

"Uh, yeah." I said shaking my head. I think the image was finally gone. "C'mon." I said holding my hand out for Akira, since I knew she loved to hold my hand. She came up with a smile and took my hand firmly. With swift movements, I had herded them out the door.

"You have a mission?" Akira asked after five minutes of silence as we walked.

"Yes. But I'll probably be in the village so I wont be gone long." I said reassuring.

"Dad, remember that the genin exams are Thursday." Akiyo reminded.

I nodded. "Yes, of course." I said. To be completely honest, I had totally forgotten about the genin exams. I had planned on being there, hoping I wouldn't have a mission that day.

"Daddy, do I get to go to the genin exams?" Akira asked tugging on my shirt.

"If you want to." I said seeing the hokage building come into view. "We wont be able to watch, but we can be there afterwards."

"Huh?" Akiyo asked surprised. "Why cant you watch?"

"Well, your going to be doing the clone jutsu in front of two sensei's. They are the ones who determine if you graduate. We can't be in there." I said glancing at Akiyo.

Akiyos shoulders slumped. "Oh."

"You'll do fine. That is, if you don't injure yourself any more by disobeying me." I said looking at his pink arms.

"I thought we weren't going to talk about it anymore..." Akiyo said hiding his arms behind his back.

"Alright, alright, we'll put it to rest." I said smiling.

The rest of the walk there was quiet, and I brought the kids into Narutos office to see what mission I was going on, and who would be best to watch the kids. When I walked in, Naruto smiled as Akira squealed in excitement.

"Uncle Naruto!" She squealed letting go of my hand and running towards him. Naruto walked around his desk and bent down, holding his arms out for my racing daughter. If there was anyone she loved more than me, it was Naruto.

She leaped into Narutos arms and gave him a tight hug. "Akira! Its good to see you!" Naruto exclaimed. After Akira leaned back, he picked her up and rested her on his hip. He looked at Akiyo and smiled. "Good to see you too, Akiyo."

Akiyo nodded in response. Naruto was used to not getting much words out of Akiyo. Akiyo didnt talk much to people outside of the family, and he wasn't _outgoing _to us. It was usual behavior.

Naruto must have noticed on how much Akiyo looked like Itachi, because he stared for a minute. His expression puzzled. I could tell by Akiyos stance that he thought it was weird, so I decided to butt in.

"I need to know what mission I'll be going on, so I can find a proper sitter for them." I said causing Naruto to snap up in my direction. Ino and Shikamaru lived over near the eastern end of the village, Tenten and Neji lived near the west, Chouji, Shino and Kiba lived as neighbors near the north end and Lee lived near the south end close to me and Sakura. It was a pretty good arrangement when Sakura or myself had to do a mission around the village. They were always eager to watch the kids, they all loved Akira and Akiyo.

Naruto looked at Akira and ruffled her hair. "Oh, its no problem, I can watch them!" Naruto exclaimed smiling at Akira. "The mission wont take you long anyways, its as easy as it gets."

"Yeah!" Akira screamed. "Daddy! I want to stay with Uncle Naruto!" she exclaimed hugging his neck.

"Are you sure you can watch them and do work at the same time?" I asked crossing my arms. "Because Akiyo isn't supposed to be training, and the minute you turn your back..."

"Dad!" Akiyo exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry about it, its not a problem. They can sit in here in my office with me and play a board game or something, im sure Hinatas got some around here somewhere." he said looking around as if he was going to find a board game.

"Well, okay." I said. Naruto put Akira down and walked back to his desk. He motioned me to come to the desk so he could explain the mission. I walked over and Naruto turned to Akira and Akiyo.

"Alright guys, I need you to leave the room for a minute while I explain the mission to your dad. I would let you stay but its confidential information...you know?" Naruto said giving them an expression as if they knew.

I turned. "You can come back in, in a minute." I said smiling at them. Akiyo nodded, understanding.

"But I wanna stay..." Akira whined. Akiyo sighed and grabbed his sisters wrist, pulling her out the door. The door closed shut behind them.

Naruto sighed as he sat down in his chair. "Alright, so your mission is to go help an old woman to plant her crops. Heres where to go," Naruto said writing down something on a piece of paper, then ripping it, and handing it to me. "It wont be hard, it'll probably take you an hour, two hours tops." he said signing a paper stating that I was doing the mission.

"Alright." I said stuffing the paper in my pocket. "I don't understand why this stuff is so confidential. I mean, its nothing major..."

"No, I agree with you," Naruto said signing another paper. "But that's how the comity wants it to be. No one is allowed to hear the mission besides the person doing it, and the hokage assigning it themselves. Its pretty stupid, but oh well, its rules." he said placing the paper aside.

"Heh, you used to never follow rules." I smirked. Naruto smirked back and folded his hands, resting his chin on them.

"That's when we were kids. Im hokage now, I have to follow rules." he said laughing. "Although, I do miss old days..."

"I don't." I said scowling. "Im actually happy now."

"Yeah, that's always good." Naruto said nodding his head. "And what of Akiyo? Is he happy?"

"I guess so." I said glancing at the door. "He doesn't seem depressed. He just works hard."

"Yeah," Naruto said sighing and laying back in his chair.

"The genin exams are coming up, huh?" I asked pursing my lips. "Akiyo is pretty nervous."

"Ah," Naruto said sighing. "Him being Itachi's kid, he'll do fine." Naruto said closing his eyes and relaxing.

I sighed. "Right. Well, I'd better get on this mission." I turned around, only to see a shocked person in front of me. The door was open, and Akiyo stood dazed in front of me. He didnt move, his eyes were widened as if he had just seen a ghost. His fists were clenched and shaking.

"Akiyo?" I asked. "Akiyo, whats wrong?" I asked walking to him. I heard Naruto jump up from his seat, he was soon behind me. I knely down and grabbed Akiyos shoulders. "Akiyo? Akiyo, whats wrong, wheres Akira?" I asked noticing that Akira wasn't behind him.

"She went to get something out of the candy machine downstairs..." Akiyo mumbled out after a long moment of silence. He was still shaking. "I was coming to get you, to tell you that she left."

"Okay?" I asked trying to stop Akiyo from shaking. "So whats wrong then?"

Akiyo looked at me. His black eyes were wide with shock. He swallowed before answering:

"Dad...who's Itachi?"


	8. The whole truth

**Authors note: **Sorry it took a little while before I could post this...as you know, this is where the climax in the story starts so it takes lots of focus and concentration, and since I had ADD off the wall...its hard for me to stay put. Lol. Sorry, but here it is.

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I looked him dead in the eyes. Akiyo stood in front of me, dazed, wanting an answer. I didn't quite know what I should say. Should I tell him the truth? Or just try to cover it up? What would be the best solution? I knew for a fact that Sakura would be angry if I told him the truth, but he was old enough...right? He had a right to know who his real father was...right?

"Dad...?" Akiyo said bringing me out of my thoughts. He looked down at the ground, trying to hide a worried look.

"Um...Akiyo..." I began. I hesitated before I spoke anymore. I was truly speechless. I knew this day would come soon, but I never expected it to be like this or this soon. I was planning for many years ahead.

Naruto sighed behind me, with a tint of humor. "What are you talking about, Akiyo?" Naruto asked walking around me. He stood behind Akiyo, laying his hands on his shoulders. Akiyo looked up at him. "We never said anything about a person named Itachi! I think you must have misunderstood, buddy." Naruto said smiling that big goofball smile.

Akiyo shook his head. "No. I heard you." he said, his expression getting serious. "I heard you say 'him being Itachi's kid, he will be fine.'" he said quoting Narutos exact words. There was no doubt about it, he heard clearly.

Naruto's goofy expression changed instantly. He shook his head. "No, Akiyo, I never said that." Naruto lied. I rolled my eyes, he was such a bad liar.

"Akiyo," I said bringing his focus back on me. "Uncle Naruto didn't say anything like that. You're my son, you know that." I lied. Okay, maybe I wasn't any better at lying, but it was worth a shot.

But sadly, Akiyo was too smart to believe that. "Dad, stop lying to me like im a three year old." he snapped. "I just wanna know who he is. Is that so wrong?" he asked, his eyes filled with wonderment.

I sighed. "Can't we talk about this with your mother?" I asked, hoping so badly that he would say yes.

Of course, I was shot down.

"No." Akiyo said firmly. "I want to know, now."

I sighed. There was no getting around it. Naruto shot me a glance that both said "careful what you say" and "I told you he would find out.". In return, I shot him a glance that said "im going to kill you for opening your big mouth." Naruto swallowed hard.

"Itachi..." I began, looking at Akiyo. Akiyo stood firmly, waiting for his answer. "Itachi is a person who used to live in the leaf village. He was part of the Uchiha clan." I said, not noticing that I was gazing to the side to avoid Akiyos eye contact.

"Like us?" Akiyo asked glancing down at the Uchiha fan that was on his black shirt. I nodded.

"Yes." I said.

"But I thought you said the Uchiha clan was massacred one night and that you were the only survivor." Akiyo pointed out, crossing his arms. "How is there another besides Akira and I?"

I bit my lip. This was going to be the hard part.

"Well, I didn't tell you this but...Itachi," I said looking back at him. "Itachi Uchiha, is the one who killed them all."

Naruto shifted positions, stating that he never liked talking about the Uchiha massacre while Akiyo gasped. Tch. How do they think I felt talking about it?

"Itachi Uchiha killed them? A member of their own clan?" Akiyo asked, astonished. "That's horrible!"

"Yeah...it is." I said looking down. For a brief moment, I thought about myself that night. Scared and alone. Standing in front of my brother...

But I was brought out of my thoughts when Akiyo grabbed my shoulders. "I can't believe it!" he exclaimed. "Hes scum!" he yelled lowering his eyebrows in fury. "He should pay!"

I couldn't help but smirk, but it wasn't a humorous smirk, it was a smirk of envy. I knew that once Akiyo knew the truth, he wouldn't like it a bit. Not that I would blame him. "He...has paid." I said glancing up at Naruto. Naruto nodded and looked at Akiyo. Akiyo smiled.

"Good." he said. His smile suddenly turned into a frown. "But...I don't understand the part about me being 'Itachi's kid'. It doesn't makes sense to me...you're my father."

All of a sudden, it felt like a ton of bricks fell on top of me. Akiyo looked so helpless, even being Itachis kid. All the weight fell down on me and I felt my heart start...hurting. It wasn't usual for me, usually even after all these years, I still tried to hide strong emotions from people. But...it was as if this one showed. I so badly wanted to tell Akiyo that he was my son, my son, not Itachi's...but I...couldn't.

Akiyos eyes grew wide when I didn't say anything. He gasped. "Your...you're my dad..." he repeated. He grabbed my shoulders. "Right? Right Dad?"

I sighed and took his small hands in mine. "Akiyo..."

Akiyo pulled away. "No..." he said. That was it. He knew. "No...its not true, it can't be true..."

"Akiyo..." Naruto said bending down and holding his arms out for Akiyo. Akiyo ignored him and just stared at me.

"Your..." he began. Suddenly tears swarmed his eyes. They fell down his pale face. "Your not my father..." he whispered.

Akiyo was smart. He figured it out without me even saying it. But I almost felt tears of my own come to my eyes of the boy who had been mislead all his life. He had grown up believing I was his father. He had every right to be upset, and I thought I would be able to take this when he found out. I wiped my eye and fixed my voice.

"Akiyo, im sorry." I said.

Akiyo fell backwards. Naruto caught him before he could fall on the ground and I stood up, approaching him. "Akiyo..." I said holding my arms out.

Akiyo jumped from Narutos arms and ran to the corner of the room. He was frightened. Now, he was acting like a little kid. It was so usual for him to lose his calm attitude, but he did.

"Stay away from me." he said tears falling down his eyes. "If your not my father...then just who in the hell are you?!" Akiyo screamed. I ignored his minor cursing, he had a right.

"The truth is...I am really your uncle." I said stepping forward. Akiyo dropped to the floor.

"My...my uncle?" he asked backing all the way into the small corner. "So that means..."

"Yes." I said looking down. "Your father, is my brother."

Akiyo didnt speak for a moment, he just took the moment to wipe his eyes and try to get his act together. He shook for a minute, then tried to collect himself. I felt hurt by how he looked. He was just ten years old for goodness sake, he was just a kid. He didn't deserve to go through this. Nobody did. He wasn't ready, but even through all this confusion, he was trying to act grown up by collecting himself. No doubt, he was stronger than I was at his age.

"So..." Akiyo said looking at me, his voice breaking just slightly. "You are my uncle...and my father is the man who killed the whole Uchiha clan..." he said, but said it as if he were talking to himself.

I nodded. "Yes."

He looked at me furiously. "Why didn't you tell me!?" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me the truth, instead of leading me on all these years!?"

"Akiyo, Sasuke wanted you to be as normal as possible! He didn't want you to grow up, thinking you didnt have a father!" Naruto said butting in. "Sasuke may not be your real father, but he loves you just as you are his own!"

"Shut up!" Akiyo snapped at Naruto. "This is between me and...him." he said, hesitating, not wanting to call me dad. I sighed and I tried to hold in sad emotions. I should have been used to this, but Naruto was right. In the beginning, I hated him. But over the years, I loved him. I truly loved him as my own son, and to see him cower away from me like this...it almost broke my heart. As much as I thought I would never say that in my life.

"Akiyo, Naruto is right. I love you." I said approaching him. Akiyo tried to scoot as far away as possible. "You loved me too...until you found out the truth."

"The truth changes everything..." Akiyo said turning his head from me. "What else have you lied about!?"

"Nothing!" I said quickly. "There are no other secrets!"

"And what about mom? Is she really my _Aunt_?" Akiyo asked almost mockingly.

"No!" I exclaimed. "Your mother is your real, actual mother. And she loves you so much, with all her heart, that is why she never wanted to tell you."

"What do you mean?" Akiyo asked turning back to me. "How is that LOVING me?"

I took a deep breath. "Your father...your father only wanted you for his own power. He never loved you."

As soon as I said the words, I regretted it. Akiyos eyes started with the waterworks again and he tried to wipe them away, but couldn't. "My father...never loved me?" he asked, his voice sincere.

"Your father was an evil man. Don't you remember? He killed our family." I said. "The uchiha clan. He left me alone in this world."

Akiyo sniffed. "I...I know."

"But Akiyo..." Naruto said walking up behind me. "You don't need your real father...Sasuke...loves you. He would do anything for you, and even though hes not your biological father, he was still there to take care of you." Naruto explained. He smiled a reassuring smile to Akiyo. "And if that's not a father, then I don't know what one is."

Akiyo gasped as he looked from Naruto to me. He stared at me for a minute, then turned around and wiped his tears away. He sniffed a couple times, then got to his feet. He looked at me. "My real father...is dead." he said, it almost wasnt a question.

"Yes." I said. "He is...dead. I had to kill him. He would not stop until he had you and he wanted to take you away from your mother." I said. "Oh, Akiyo..."

Akiyo held a hand up. "Stop." he said. "This is a lot to handle...and I need some time."

I nodded. "Of course."

Akiyo sighed. "Can I just be alone?" he asked. "Please?"

I looked at Naruto and Naruto nodded. He looked at Akiyo and gave him worried smile. "Akiyo, you can have this whole office to yourself. We'll leave you alone until you get yourself together. And we'll be right outside if you need us."

Akiyo nodded. "Thanks..." he said wiping a tear that escaped his eye. Naruto nodded and made his way out the door slowly.

When he was gone, I looked at Akiyo, who looked like he was thinking about something. "Akiyo...do you want to talk?" I asked.

"Maybe after I get this all together..." Akiyo said taking a deep sigh. "Um...can I just be alone?"

I nodded. "Yes." I said turning around. I walked to the door as Akiyo sat in the floor and sniffed, trying to stop crying. "Akiyo.." I said before I left. Akiyo looked up at me, hesitating at first. I could have sworn I almost felt a tear of my own, but I forced it back. I had to stay strong. "I'm here." I said calmly. Akiyo nodded without a word and turned his head.

I slowly walked out the door, hoping that I would not lose my son, because of Itachi.

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**Authors note: **Okay, so its not the BEST ending. But I thought it was decent...um...yeah lol. So review, but I DO NOT want flames. Lol thanks.


	9. Its thought over

**Authors note: **Haha so I definitely realized in the last chapter that Sasuke was really OOC. Lol, but then again, it's a pretty emotional thing with Akiyo going on and well lets face it. If Sasuke wasnt a LITTLE OOC then there would be no story...lol. But...sorry, just had to point that out. Sorry if Sasukes OOC made anybody mad or...whatever. Lol sorry, but anyways, heres the next chapter.

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I backed up against the wall and slid down, covering my face. I knew that I really wanted to tear up, but I wouldn't let myself. I had to keep my coolness in tact, and there was no way id ever cry in front of Naruto anyway. He would never let me live it down. Whenever I cried, I was always alone. That's how it always was, ever since my clan was massacred. I never let myself cry in front of others.

Naruto sighed as he stood above me. "You know, I have to say, hes taking it better than I thought he would." Naruto said idiotically.

I looked up at him, my mouth dropped open. I lowered my eyebrows at him. "Your kidding, right?" I asked sarcastically. "You've got to be freaking joking."

"Sasuke?"

"If you hadn't have opened your _big mouth _he would have never found out to begin with!" I said sliding myself back up the wall. I jabbed my finger in his face. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault!?" Naruto screamed, jabbing a finger back into mine. "Its not my fault the kid has ears like a freaking hawk! He got that from the _precious Uchiha clan_." he said mockingly.

"That's it." I said swinging my fist at Naruto. Naruto dodged, and caught the next punch that I threw at him.

"Stop it, you idiot!" Naruto screamed at me. "I'm sorry, but I don't think ATTACKING THE HOKAGE is the smartest thing to do!" Naruto screamed, his eyes getting large as he said 'Hokage'.

"I don't care what the hell you are, im gonna kick your"-

"Daddy?" Akiras voice said from beside us. Naruto and I both looked over at the same time, to see Akira standing there with a chocolate bar in her hand. Her eyes were wide with shock and she stood there. Naruto let me go instantly and I brought my arms to my sides. I turned around to face her and I smiled a fake smile. Naruto did the same.

"Akira!" I said sounding surprised. "We were...uh, looking for you."

"Didn't Akiyo tell you I was going to get some candy?" Akira asked taking a bite out of her chocolate bar.

"Uh, yeah, he did." I said glancing at the door. "I was on my way to come get you."

"Oh." Akira said coming up to me. I glared at Naruto as he glared back, while Akira came up and held her arms out. I picked her up and rested her on my hip, eyeing Naruto while doing it. "Daddy? Wheres Akiyo?" she asked.

"He went for a walk." I lied.

"Why?"

"He just...wanted some fresh air." I lied again.

"Hey, Akira," Naruto said bumping into me on purpose. I sighed at us acting like two children...yep, nothing has changed. "How would you like to see Hinata? She's got _tons _of candy in her room."

Akiras face lit up. "Candy!?" she exclaimed. She practically jumped out of my arms, so I put her down willingly. "Wheres her room at?!" Akira screamed looking around. Hinata and Naruto lived in the hokages building. They moved in because it would be easier for Naruto to get his work done.

Naruto pointed down the hall. "Its down the hall on the left. But knock first, I think she was sleeping." he said bending down. "Tell her that Uncle Naruto said to share all of her candy with you."

"Okay!" Akira exclaimed, almost dropping her candy bar as she ran like a maniac down the hallway. I sighed and glared at Naruto.

"So, you plan to get rid of her by giving her cavities?" I asked raising a brow.

Naruto put his hands on his hips. "You are so ungrateful! I could have totally just let you deal with the situation! That's what I get for helping..." he muttered off. I rolled my eyes as I slid down the wall again. I sighed.

"Wonder what hes doing in there..." I muttered out loud.

"Thinking, obviously." Naruto said humorously.

I growled. "Naruto, im not fighting with you anymore. For goodness sake, we're adults. Time to grow up." I snapped.

"You're the one who started it with me!" Naruto whined.

"See! There you go!" I shouted pointing a finger at him. I sighed and threw my face in my palms. "Forget it." I mumbled into my palms, making it hard to understand my words.

Naruto sighed as he sat down across from me. It was silent as we sat there, waiting for some form of anything to come from Akiyo. I was so worried...he was so upset...I knew things wouldn't be the same after this. I just wish he would talk to me...

"Sasuke," Naruto said making me lose my train of thought.

"What?" I groaned.

"I'm sorry."

I looked up, surprised. "What?" I asked, trying to figure out if what I heard was right.

"I'm sorry. Is my fault that Akiyo found out. I shouldn't have said anything." Naruto said looking at his shoes. He twiddled his thumbs and sighed.

I groaned to myself. I so badly wanted to say 'dang straight its your fault!' but I couldn't. I mean, even I wasn't that much of a jerk. At least not now.

"No, Naruto." I said closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. "Its really not your fault. You were right, he was going to find out eventually...today just happened to be the day."

"Yeah but...I promised you and Sakura I wouldn't talk about Itachi at all. And I did. Even though I was talking about him to you"-

"Don't worry about it, alright?" I said taking an annoyed sigh. "Forget it. Its too late now, no use crying over spilt milk."

There was another long silence. I could only hear mine and Narutos breathing. His breathing was slightly faster than mine, and deeper. He was truly sorry and worried, I could tell by the look on his face. His expression was sad and sincere. I had only seen Naruto like this limited times in my life. Usually he was just a regular goofball. He always tried to make anything funny.

"Naruto"-

"I'm going to make this up to you, Sasuke." Naruto said looking at me with serious eyes. "I promise."

"Naruto, just please drop it." I said, practically begging. I was already worried about Akiyo, I didn't need him to be all emotional. I hated that.

There was another long silence.

All of a sudden, Naruto gave a sarcastic laugh. "Do you remember, when that first week you came back, I was so mad at you for leaving, that I pushed you in that lake, headfirst?"

I looked at him like he was crazy. "Um...that was random." I said raising an eyebrow.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, but I was just thinking about it. You were so mad." he said. He looked at me with a dumbfounded look. "Your hair was all messed up..."

"Are you getting somewhere with this?" I asked, angrily. I remembered when he did push me in that lake all those years ago. I was so mad, and spent countless hours trying to catch him and kill him. But what was the reason he brought it up?

"No, no." Naruto said snickering. "I was...just trying to think of something funny, to lighten the mood up."

"So, you decided to bring up something, that wasn't funny to me at all, that just made me mad and wanted to kill you, just to lighten the mood up?"

"Yeah."

"You. Are. An. Idiot." I said shaking my head and closing my eyes. "Don't talk to me the rest of the time we are here. Do you understand me?"

Naruto looked at me mad. "Your attitude over the years never changed...you get on my nerves." Naruto said crossing his arms.

I snorted. "Yeah, you're the only one..." I said sighing.

Naruto sighed too and looked down. "But...what are you going to do, if Akiyo decides...well...that he doesnt want to accept you as his father?"

I shuddered at the thought. "Well...what can I do? He is still only ten years old, Itachi is dead, and we are his legal guardians. Whether he accepts me or not, he will still have to live with me."

"Yeah, but it wont be the same." Naruto objected. "Just because you live in the same house, doesnt really mean that he'll talk to you."

"How about we try to think positive..." I said lowering my eyebrows at his comment. Naruto was always good at saying the wrong things.

"Well...even if he does accept you, there will still be some awkwardness in there...right?" Naruto asked, his eyes tightly shut. His eyes were always shut when he was thinking hard.

"I hope not..." I trailed off. I so badly wanted things to be back to normal. I never knew I could love Akiyo so much, especially him being Itachis kid. I always thought I had a love/hate relationship for him, but now that all this is at state...I realized I truly loved him as my own son.

Suddenly, the door began opening. Naruto and I practically jumped out of our skins, because first, it scared us, and second, Akiyo slowly walked out of the door. He stood there, his eyes a light pink from sobbing and he sniffed a couple times. There were no tears, he was completely calm now. He looked up at Naruto and I, his expression unreadable.

"Akiyo?" I said in a whisper.

Akiyo sighed. "I've thought about it," he said pursing his lips. He took a minute to continue, but then he did: "I've thought about it...and this is what I think."

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OOBER CLIFF HANGER!!! lol. Review.


	10. The conclusion

My heart was racing. Akiyo stood in front of me, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his hands in his pockets. He kept himself in a cool posture as he took a deep breath. "Akiyo...?" I asked. He held his hand up, as if he were silencing me.

"I've thought about everything," he said once again, looking into my eyes with the dark ones of his own. His eyes were a light pink from where he had been crying earlier, but he had himself under control. Akiyo was strong inside, no doubt he probably got that from me. He sighed. "It's a lot to handle. And even though I've thought most of it over, I've still got a lot of thinking to do."

"I understand." I said.

"So, what are you thinking, bud?" Naruto asked from beside me. Akiyo looked at him, then looked away.

"Actually, Naruto, I was hoping I could talk to...dad...alone." Akiyo said, hesitating before he said 'dad'. This worried me a little, but then again, I was glad he didn't say 'Sasuke'.

"Oh, sure." Naruto said half disappointed. "I have work to do anyways." he said walking around Akiyo and into his office. He closed the doors shut, leaving me and Akiyo alone in the hallway.

After a moment, Akiyo opened his mouth to speak, but I silenced him with a wave of my hand. Akiyo looked confused and I just raised a finger, telling him to give me one second.

I walked up to the doors, clenched my fist, and punched the door hard, leaving it rumbling from impact. Akiyo gasped as he nearly jumped out of his skin, and I heard Naruto scream on the other end.

"What he heck was that for!?" Naruto yelled from the room.

"I know you were listening..." I said rolling my eyes. Naruto muttered something, but I didn't pay attention to what. I turned to look at Akiyo, who looked both mad and confused. "We'd better go somewhere else and talk." I said nodding down the hallway. Akiyo sighed, nodded, and proceeded to walk down the hallway. I could have sworn I heard Naruto groan, but I wasn't in the arguing mood. I had to speak to Akiyo.

We walked out of the hokage building, and made our way silently to the academy.

He walked quietly by my side. It was really kind of awkward, but I didn't want to push him. When we finally got to the academy yard, Akiyo made his way to a small swing that was tired to a tree, right in front of the academy doors. He sat on it, but did not swing. When I looked more at it, I noticed that it was the same swing that Naruto had always swung on. That was way back in the old days where nobody would have anything to do with him. It was in the shade, not that it was sunny out. I looked up at the orangish sky and assumed it was probably getting close to five o'clock. Guess I wouldn't be going on that mission afterall.

"So..." Akiyo finally said, breaking the silence. He moved on the swing slightly, not quite swinging. "I just...I just have a hard time understanding why you just didn't tell me from the beginning," Akiyo said truthfully. "I just feel like I've been living a lie all this time."

"Akiyo..." I began. "We hid it from you because we didnt want you to feel the anguish of not having a _real _father. As much as I hate to say it...Itachi never loved you the way he should have. I hate that he was that way...but"-

"So, my father only had me for his own power?" Akiyo asked, trying to keep his tone regular. "I don't understand why he would do that..."

"Well, Akiyo..." I trailed off.

Akiyo sighed. "More lies?" he asked looking down at the dirt ground below us.

"No," I said meeting his gaze at the ground. I sighed. "Well...to be honest, you weren't expected."

"I wasn't expected?" Akiyo repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

I sighed. I should have never said anything, I so badly didn't want to tell him the story of Sakuras rape. It might just make him more upset. Plus Sakura would literally kill me. Akiyo grabbed my shirt sleeve and tugged on it, causing me to look at him. "Please tell me. I want to know everything."

"It might upset you..." I warned.

"So?" Akiyo said simply. "I was already upset once today, just tell me."

"I wasn't happy about that." I said, referring to the earlier episode.

"Just tell me..." Akiyo said, getting annoyed now. I sighed.

"Fine," I spoke, pulling my sleeve from his grasp. I took a large deep breath and closed my eyes. I tried to find a way to approach this. The best way for a ten year old. "Well...your father was in a group called 'the akatsuki.'" I said, the first thing coming to my mind were black cloaks with red clouds.

"Akatsuki?" Akiyo repeated. "Did they have black cloaks with red clouds?" he asked. I looked at him, surprised. It was almost like the boy read my mind!

"Yes...how did you know that?"

"They mentioned them at school, but they never got into names." Akiyo explained. "They told us that they were a group of real, no joke, bad guys. They had some incredible talent."

I nodded. "That is true."

"But...aren't all of them dead?"

I shook my head. "Most of them are. But I think there are few who are still alive. But they don't fight anymore. Nobody even knows where they are." I said pursing my lips. "The group included: Pain, Deidara, Konan, your father, Itachi, Zetsu, Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan, Sasori, and Tobi." I explained. "Pain and Konan were from the rain village, Deidara was from the rock village, Zetsu from the grass, Kisame from the mist, Kakuzu from the waterfall village, Hidan from the hot springs village, Sasori from the sand, and Tobi and Itachi from the leaf. Orochimaru was even a part of the akatsuki at one time. Now I know you guys have heard of him."

"Of course." Akiyo said nodding. "He was a major threat to the village, right?"

"Yes." I said. I didn't dare tell him how I used to be associated with him. That would bring up another whole topic that I really wouldn't like to talk about. "He was."

"But hes dead now." Akiyo said. It wasn't a question.

"Right." I said.

"But...you said my father was apart of this group...well...? Go on from there." Akiyo said bringing me back to the subject.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of the nine-tailed fox." I said thinking about whether or not I should tell him about Naruto. Akiyo nodded and waited for me to continue. "Well, lets just say that the spirit is sealed up"-

"Inside a human, I know." Akiyo said interrupting me. "The teacher talks about it sometimes. They never tell us who it is that they sealed it in, but we know about it." I sighed. That would mean that it'd be better if I didn't tell him.

"Yeah, well, the akatsuki wanted the beasts power to use for their purposes. Well it turns out that your mother was good friends with the person who held the beast inside of them." I said, really expressing the word 'was' in the sentence.

"Really?" Akiyo asked.

"Yes. Well, your father came up with a plan...basically meaning that if he kidnaped your mother then if would draw the nine-tails out..." I trailed off.

"Kidnap?"

I nodded. "Akiyo...you don't have to know this"-

"Tell me." he persisted. "I need to know."

I sighed and looked at the ground. "It turns out...your father...raped your mother."

Akiyo gasped, followed by a long silence. The wind blew fiercely, I was almost afraid to look up at Akiyo. But when I did, I was surprised. Instead of expecting a weeping face, I saw his expression deep and in thought. His eyes were closed, his fists clenched, but his breathing even. He bit his lip before speaking again. "So that's what happened..." he said, his voice sounding hurt. "I understand."

"Akiyo, im so sorry"-

"Its not your fault." he said opening his eyes slightly. "Just...give me a minute."

So I did. I looked at Akiyo, calmly on the swing. I saw his eyes fill with tears, but he forced them away. I could feel the tears of my own begin to dwell, but I did the same. I stood there, watching Akiyo, whom I loved as my own son, trying to remain calm from the information he now understood. I couldn't believe he was taking it this way, I had half expected him to fly off the handle and run away or something. But he didn't. He just sat there, relaxed as possible, simply thinking. I couldn't believe the mental strength this child had!

He sighed and unclenched his fist. "You always loved me." he said, causing me to lower my eyebrows in concentration. "Biological or not, you always took care of me. You are...my dad." he said looking up at me with a small smile on his face.

Suddenly, it was like a ton of weight just got lifted off of me. I wanted to pick him up and hug him, very unusual behavior on my part, but I couldn't help myself. I haven't felt this happy since Sakura and I got married. Or when Akira and Akiyo were born. I smiled back at him. "I do love you, son."

Akiyo jumped off of the swing. I knelt down and he jumped into a hug with me. I hugged his small ten year old body tightly, letting him know that I was indeed his father and would always be there for him. I had never been this emotional, it definitly wasn't the Sasuke Uchiha that everybody knew, and frankly, I didnt care. All I cared about was being there now, in this time of need, for my son, Akiyo.

* * *

Yeah...Sasuke was pretty OOC, I will even admit that. But in a way...you can kind of get where he's coming from, I think. And you have to remember: when Sasuke came back and married Sakura, he changed a lot. Since Itachi was dead and he has a family now, he is much happier. I know, the mysterious Sasuke is very hot and all, and I know hes OOC. But im just trying to make it as if it were possible. So please don't point out the obvious fact that he is OOC because I know lol. But review. And the ending may be a little cheesy, but hey, its what I got.


	11. Sakura finds out

After the long, dramatic day, Akiyo and I made our way home. I was glad that Naruto and Hinata offered to keep Akira for tonight, it would mean she wouldn't have to be a victim on the yelling and screaming that was sure to come to me when Sakura found out that Akiyo knew about Itachi. At this, I sighed and bowed my head. I dreaded going home.

Akiyo was silent beside me. I looked at him, and it seemed to be as if he were in deep thought. He probably was, but that was okay. He had a lot to think about today, and it was understandable. I just wondered how I was going to break it to Sakura. But I was relieved, that I knew for a fact Akiyo would be okay.

When we passed by the ramen shop, Akiyo broke the ice: "Why did Itachi kill the clan?" he asked bluntly. To my surprise, I flinched at the subject. I should have been full used to talking about it, but it still stung when it came out so bluntly like that. Like it was no big deal. But again, Akiyo was just a kid. He probably thought that I was over the tragic event.

"Nobody knows," I said truthfully. "That's a question that I can't answer."

"Oh." Akiyo said, almost half disappointed. Heh. Join the club, I would do _anything _to find out why he did it. "He left you alive though...did he say why?"

I lowered my head and closed my eyes. I stuck my hands in my pockets. "He just said I had the same eyes as him. That's all he said." I said, mysteriously. It was like I had transformed into the old Sasuke again for a brief moment.

"Its just so..." Akiyo began.

"Weird?" I asked finishing the sentence for him. Akiyo nodded. "Yeah it is," I continued. "At one time, Itachi was the most respected member of the clan. And he was one of the many strongest too."

"Did you look up to him? Since he was your brother?" Akiyo asked, almost quietly.

I sighed. "Yes."

Akiyo didn't say anything after that. We just walked in silence until we reached the two story house we lived in. Akiyo went up the stairs first, I followed. I opened the door, nudged Akiyo in, and closed the door behind me. We stood in the living room for a minute, as I heard Sakuras footsteps approaching the living room. It had to be about seven o'clock, it was dark outside. She was probably wondering why we were so late getting home.

She crossed the corner and smiled. "Hi honey," she said. I knew she was referring to Akiyo. Akiyo nodded.

"Hey, mom." Akiyo said calmly, as if everything were normal.

"How was your day, sweetie?" Sakura asked walking over and kissing Akiyos head.

"Interesting." he answered, giving me a glance.

"How so?" Sakura asked, noticing Akiyo glance at me.

"Um, I'd rather me and you talk about it." I said nudging Akiyo towards the hallway to his room. Sakura gave me a confused look, but nodded. "Can we go in the kitchen?" Sakura nodded and made her way to the kitchen. I looked down at Akiyo. "How about you let me handle this."

Akiyo nodded. "Okay. I'll just go to my room."

I nodded. Akiyo turned around and made his way to the room at the end of the hall. I sighed, and made my way to the doom that lay in the kitchen. I walked in, seeing Sakuras hands on her hips with an eyebrow raised.

"What happened..." she said with dread in her tone.

"First, I would like every sharp object to be thrown out the window." I said trying to lighten the mood up a little by nodding to the window. Sakura wasn't phased. "Sasuke." she said in a serious tone. I sighed.

"Well, now let me finish before you go off." I said shoving my hands in my pockets. "Akiyo...found out something today."

Sakuras eyes grew wide. She knew instantly where I was going. "Sasuke Uchiha!" she yelled. Her hands balled into fists. "You didnt tell him about"-

"It was an accident." I said interrupting her. "Naruto mentioned his name, and Akiyo overheard."

"Oh my gosh..." Sakura said, her face turning from a bright red to a sad expression. "My poor baby..."

I had to say I was surprised. I had thought she would throw things at me and scream. Instead, she covered her face with her hands and sat down in a chair next to the table. I could hear her sob. I sat down next to her and put my arm around her. Also surprising, she didn't push me away.

"Sakura, calm down...Akiyo took it hard at first, but hes alright." I said. "He just wanted to know the truth."

"Hes just ten years old..." Sakura mumbled. "Oh Sasuke...I didn't want him to know."

"But he wanted to know." I said. Sakura looked up at me with teary eyes.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Akiyo is stronger than any ten year old child I have ever seen in my life." I said taking her hand into mine. "He did take it hard at first, but he is okay. He says hes still got a lot of thinking to do, but he has come to the conclusion that he will still accept me as his father. He knows that I am not biologically his, but he doesn't care. Things will be fine." I promised.

Sakura sighed and wiped tears away with her wrist. "Does he know the whole truth?" she asked. I knew she was referring to her rape.

"Yes. He knows everything."

"Sasuke!" she shouted. "Why would you tell him even that!"

"Sakura, he wanted to know everything! He had a right to know!" I said defensively. "He is growing up, we can't keep treating him like a baby!"

"Sasuke, he is a freaking ten year old boy, he is still just a child! The kind of information would be difficult for an adult, let alone a kid!" Sakura snapped. She shook out of my arm and stood up. She walked over to the sink, laid her palms on the edge, and bowed her head. I looked at her, waiting for her to calm down a bit. She sighed. "What did he say when you told him?"

"He just said he understood what happened and that he needed a little time. But other than that he took it fairly well."

"How did he even overhear this? Why was Naruto talking about Itachi?" Sakura asked, turning to me. Her big stomach looking like it was about to explode.

I explained everything about the mission assigning, all the way to where Akiyo had overheard. Sakura sighed and nodded during the explanation, and wiped tears out of her eyes when I mentioned the part where he overheard.

"Sasuke..." Sakura began.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." I apologized. "I didn't mean for it to happen. It just did."

She nodded and brought her palm to her forehead as if she was wiping sweat away. "Is he in his room right now?"

"Yes."

"Can you please go get him?" she asked keeping her tone in tact. I knew she was really angry, and I didn't blame her. Although she seemed like she understood. I nodded and made my way to the kitchen doorway.

"Akiyo! Can you please come in here?" I hollered loud enough for him to hear. When Sakura and I heard a door slam shut, we both seemed to have sighed weirdly at the same time and sat down in the dining room chairs. Akiyo showed himself in the doorway, and Sakura smiled a fake smile at him. She wiped her eyes one last time and told him to please sit down. He did so.

"Akiyo, Sasuke told me everything." Sakura said lacing her fingers together on the table. "It's a lot to handle...do you want to talk about it?"

Akiyo sighed and shook his head. "I'd really rather just think about things a little more before I talk." he said. "Maybe a talk in the morning would be best."

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked, inspecting his face to see the slightest hint that he had been crying. Akiyo stopped crying hours ago, so there was nothing. He just kept a straight face as he nodded.

"Yes." he said plainly.

"We're always here, Akiyo." Sakura said. "If you ever need us."

"Well..." Akiyo said as if he had changed his mind. "I have one question."

"Yes?" Sakura asked, eagerly.

"Am i...um...the only one who has a different father?" Akiyo asked. "What about Akira and Onari?"

I sighed. "I am the father of both of them." I said, almost quietly. Akiyo nodded.

"I see..." he said looking down at his hands. "So im the different one."

"Don't put it that way, Akiyo." Sakura said, her voice almost breaking. "We love you very much. Don't ever think for a minute we don't."

"I know." Akiyo said trying to cheer himself up. He looked up and gave us a fake smile. I knew the smile, because I used to give it all the time when I was younger too. "I'm fine." he said. I could tell it was a lie. "I just...want to go to bed."

"Of course, sweetie." Sakura said standing up. She walked over to Akiyo and hugged him tightly. She lifted some hair that was covering his forehead and kissed it for a moment. She leaned back and hugged him again. "I love you so much, Akiyo." she said.

"I love you too, mom." he said leaning away. He slid off the chair and walked to the doorway. He turned around. "Can we talk more tomorrow, dad?" he asked, referring to me.

I nodded. Sakura looked surprised when he still called me dad. "We can talk anytime you want." I said.

Akiyo nodded. "Okay." then he went off to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura was off of work and Akiyo didn't have school Akira was still with Naruto and Hinata, and I woke up at about nine o'clock. Sakura was already up, in the bathroom, throwing up. I was concerned. She hadn't had morning sickness in a while, so I was wondering if that's what was doing it. I jumped up out of bed, only in my boxers, and made my way to the bathroom. She had just finished when I approached the door.

"Sakura?" I asked yawning and rubbing my eyes. "Morning sickness?" I asked.

She shook her head as she wiped her mouth with a wet rag that was lying on the sink. "I'm so sick to my stomach, Sasuke. I couldn't sleep at all, I was worried about Akiyo." she said a tear escaping her eye.

I walked to her and wiped it away with my thumb. "Sakura, you heard him last night, hes fine." I said reassuring. "Don't worry about him."

"I can't help it." Sakura said, tears filling her eyes. "I love him so much, and I know it must be hard for him"-

"Sakura, you need to calm down." I said grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to sit on the toilet. She threw her face into her palms and began sobbing again. Of course I knew that this emotional wreck she was going through, wasn't all because of Akiyo. I knew that when she was pregnant with Akira too, she was very emotional about everything. I remember one evening, when she was pregnant with Akira, Akiyo wouldn't eat any of his dinner. She busted out crying, going on about how 'Akiyo was going to starve and she was a bad mother.' It took her two boxes of tissues and three cartons of chocolate ice cream before she could settle down.

"Sasuke! Im worried about Akiyo!" Sakura cried out. I patted her back and knelt down to see her face.

"How about I go get him? Will that make you feel better?" I asked. Sakura sniffed and nodded.

"Can you bring some ice cream too?" she asked. I smiled and nodded. She tried to smile back, but wiped away tears instead.

"I'll run by the store in the village and buy some. How does that sound?" I asked as if I were talking to a child. She smiled this time.

"Thank you Sasuke. You always take care of me."

"In sickness and in health." I said repeating a line from our wedding. I stood up and left Sakura in the bathroom, hearing her throw up as I closed the door. I grimaced at the sound, but shook it off and made my way to Akiyo's room. "Knock, knock." I said knocking on the door. There was no answer. I knocked again. Still no answer. I assumed he was asleep, but I figured I might as well check on him anyway. I opened the door, and nearly had a heart attack.

He was not in his bed.

I ran over to the bed and threw the covers everywhere. He wasn't here. But he hadn't left his room since last night, so he was not anywhere in the house! I looked around the room, when I noticed, his window cracked open. I gasped as I ran to it, a gust of wind hitting me against my bare chest.

"Akiyo, you didn't..." I muttered to myself. The first thing that ran through my mind was him running away. But where would he go?

I stepped away from the window and tried to remain calm as I walked out of the room. I had to think of something. I locked the door behind me and went to the bathroom, slightly tapping on the door.

"Akiyo?" Sakura asked from the other end.

"No, its Sasuke." I said keeping my voice calm. I couldn't tell Sakura about Akiyo's leaving. It would make her more upset and worried. "Akiyo is..uh..sleeping." I lied. "But im going to go get you that ice cream now," I said nodding to myself. "I think we should just let Akiyo sleep right now, but he'll probably be up when I get back."

"Oh. Okay." Sakura said in a broke voice from the other side of the door. "I won't bother him then." she said.

I sighed a sigh of relief. "Okay, well I'll be back in a few." I said power walking to our bedroom before I could hear her response. I had to hurry before Akiyo got too far. I threw on a black t-shirt and pajama pants and slipped my shoes on. I knew it was chilly outside, but I didn't care. I grabbed my headband and headed out the house. I tied the headband to my head as I was running. I knew that if I had to leave the village, a shinobi should never leave without his headband, indicating that I was from the leaf village and not just a random traveler. But since Akiyo was not yet a genin, I was afraid for him. If he had left the village, he was in danger at anything out there. Bandits, highway men...I had to find him.

As I was running, I happened to see Hinata and Akira on their way back to our house. She was bringing Akira back.

"Daddy!" Akira shrieked in joy. Not wanting to worry Akira, I stopped for a minute and kissed her forehead.

"Hi, honey." I said. She opened her mouth to say something but I closened my face to Hinatas ear.

"Have you seen Akiyo? I can't find him anywhere..." I whispered, making sure Akira was not to hear.

Hinata gasped and whispered back. "No, I haven't...has he...ran away?"

"I don't know." I said worriedly. "But can you please keep Akira a little longer? Sakura is sick and..." I trailed off. Hinata nodded.

"Yes, I can." she said smiling a reassuring smile. I nodded at her, thanking her and ruffled Akiras hair before I sped off.

"Wheres daddy going?" Akira asked, curiously.

"Hes got some work to do, but how about we go to get some breakfast?" Hinata asked. As I ran faster, I couldn't hear them talking anymore.

All the villagers knew who Akiyo was, so I stopped occasionally to ask them if they've seen him. All said no but one woman. She had brown hair that reached the small of her back and she was holding a baby girl of her own. The baby girl had pink little cheeks and a light head of brown hair. She cooed at me as her mother spoke:

"Akiyo? Why, yes, actually. I have seen him this morning. He was going that way..." she said pointing right.

"How long ago?" I asked quickly.

"Hm.." she said tapping her finger to her chin. "Maybe about thirty minutes ago. Yeah, that seems right." she said nodding to herself.

"Thank you." I said running around her. I ran right about ten minutes straight, when I ran into Shikamaru and Ino. They were hand in hand, and Shikamaru was carrying their daughter, Mai, with his other hand. She was sound asleep.

I stopped at them, and took a breather. "Ino...Shikamaru..." I panted. "Please tell me...you've seen Akiyo..." I said.

"Akiyo?" Shikamaru repeated. "Yeah, we have. Him and Mai stopped for a little chat. He made his way to the training grounds."

"So hes in the village?" I asked catching my breath.

"Of course. Why wouldn't he be?" Ino asked smiling. I shook my head and ran past them. Shikamaru and Ino probably looked back at me, but I had to get to Akiyo. However, I was very relived when they said he was still in the village.

I ran for another good ten minutes, when I finally reached the training grounds. I smiled when I saw, just as Ino and Shikamaru had said, Akiyo was there in the middle of the ground, throwing kunai at a log. I took a minute to catch my breath, then walked to Akiyo.

"Akiyo..." I said still breathing. Akiyo gasped and turned around, dropping his kunai. "Akiyo! What are you doing out here? You had me worried sick!"

"I'm sorry." Akiyo apologized. "I just wanted to get some training in."

"You know your not supposed to be training! And you could have let us know first! If your mother would have found out before me...it would have been the start of the apocalypse!" I said throwing my arms out.

"I'm sorry," Akiyo apologized again. "I didnt mean to scare you. And im sorry that I'm training. Its just that...when I train, I get a lot of stress and agression released. I'm sorry."

All of a sudden, I felt like a load of crap. "Don't worry about it." I said holding a hand up. "I understand. Its okay."

"So your not going to tell mom?" Akiyo asked. I shook my head.

"No. I'll let you off."

"That's what you said last time..." Akiyo pointed out, picking his kunai off of the ground. I smiled.

"Are you complaining? Do you _want _me to tell on you?" I asked with a smirk.

"No!" Akiyo said shaking his head.

I laughed. "Well good." I said laying my hand on his shoulder. "But seriously, you need to come home. Your mother wants to see you."

Akiyo nodded. "Alright. But can I throw one more kunai?"

"Akiyo..." I said raising an eyebrow.

"Please, Dad?" he asked. I couldn't help but smile when he called me dad. It was like he had never even learned about Itachi. I looked over at the log he was throwing the kunai at. There was a big circle, and two smaller circles painted in the log. It was a target.

I smiled. "Sure. Why not." I said. Akiyo smiled as he took the kunai into his hand. He aimed back his arm, and squinted his eye. All the kunai he had thrown before we around the middle circle, but not quite in it. He was aiming for that one.

I noticed he was holding the kunai wrong. Before he threw it, I took his fingers and wrapped it around the handle part, and rested his thumb on the end of it. When I did this, he threw it.

It made it right in the middle.


	12. My third birth

Akiyo and I had swung by to get a carton of ice cream, so she wouldn't suspect anything if I came home empty handed. When we got back to the house, I cracked open the door to see if Sakura was anywhere in sight. If she was, I would make Akiyo crawl back through his window so that she wouldn't suspect anything. I cracked it open, and saw that she wasn't.

"Okay, you know what to do." I whispered, opening the door and stepping aside to make room for him to get in. He stepped in, and jumped on the couch, laying on it. I closed the door again, and opened it, as if I had just come home. "Akiyo, Sakura, I'm home!" I hollered when I came in.

"Oh, hi dad." Akiyo said playing along.

"Oh, I see your up." I said with a smirk. This was so childish, but it was a good plan. Akiyo returned a smirk of his own. I was surprised. Had him knowing about Itachi actually brought us...closer?

"Sakura, im home." I hollered again. No response. "Hm." I said closing the door behind me. I laid the ice cream on the end of the couch and told Akiyo to go put it up for me while I went and looked for Sakura.

I automatically checked the bathroom right off. I looked in there, and smelt a fowl smell. It was from her throwing up earlier. I held my nose as I reached under the sink to bring out a candle and matches. I sat the candle on the sink and lit it. Then I closed the door. _Where is Sakura? _I asked myself.

"Hey, Dad," Akiyo said coming into view. "I found this folded up note on the table. I didn't read it." he said quickly.

I took the note from Akiyo and opened it up. It read:

_Sasuke, this is Tenten. I dropped by after my morning walk to check on Sakura. Well, it turns out when I came in the house, I found Sakura in the bathroom screaming your name. I went in there, and noticed her on the floor. She's gone into labor, and I took her to the hospital since you weren't here. I came back to clean up the bathroom a little, but it still smells bad. But anyway, I am returning to the hospital along with everyone else. When you get this note, you should report there immediately. Thanks. Tenten._

"Whats it say?" Akiyo asked curiously.

"Your mom's gone into labor." I said laying the note down on the table next to the couch. "We need to go to the hospital, now." I said opening the front door.

"Oh," Akiyo said right behind me. "Is she okay?"

"Shes okay, she's just about to have your brother. We need to get there as soon as possible." I said. "You may want to grab something to occupy you, we're going to be there for a while, most likely."

Akiyo reached over and grabbed one of his school books off of the end of the white couch. He tucked it under his arm and nodded. I raised an eyebrow to him. "What?" he asked.

"Your going to study on your day off?" I asked.

"Yes." Akiyo said raising an eyebrow back to me. "Whats wrong with that?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Lets go."

__________

It took us about ten minutes to power walk to the hospital. When we got there, the nurse had kindly directed us to Sakura's room, which was on the third floor, room 398. Akiyo and I both hurriedly, ran up the stairs to get to Sakuras room as fast as we could. I opened the door, to see the room filled with people.

Hinata was holding Akira, Ino, Hinata, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba and Tenten were all inside. The all looked at me when I stepped in with Akiyo. Sakura, thankfully, wasn't too far along in labor, so she wasn't in much pain. But she did have a blanket covering her body, and many of the people in the room were sitting down having conversations of their own. When Sakura saw me, her face lit up.

"Sasuke!" she yelled in joy. "Akiyo! Hi honey!" she said looking at him. I was glad Sakura wasn't in a lot of pain. I remembered when she had Akiyo, she screamed for hours on end, because she was so young dealing with the pain. And when Akira was born, she was still young, so it hurt her. Now that she was twenty five, it was a better age for having children.

"Hey, Sakura, I came as soon as I got the note." I said walking over to Sakura's bedside. Kiba was sitting in the stool next to her bedside, but he willingly got up to let me sit. He walked to the other side of her bed and leaned himself up against the wall. I sat in the stool, thanking him with a nod. He took her hand into mine. "I'm sorry that I left. I shouldn't have."

"Its okay." Sakura said smiling. "Just happy that you're here now." she said lacing her small, pale fingers into mine. Her diamond ring on her ring finger glistened. I smiled as I kissed her hand delicately.

"How long have you been in labor, exactly?" I asked, forgetting that the room was filled with other people.

"Well, it turns out the reason I was throwing up was because I was emotionally distressed, and I began going into labor around that time." she said. She tapped her chin with her other finger as if she were thinking. "Probably..two or almost two hours now." she said nodding to herself.

"I'm so sorry that I left." I apologized again. "I should have been more concerned."

"Stop it, Sasuke." Sakura said, her face getting serious. "Its okay. I promise."

I sighed and nodded. Akiyo came up and laid his hand on my shoulder. "So, my baby brother is coming?" Akiyo asked gazing at Sakuras stomach.

Sakura nodded happily. "Yes." she said. "Are you excited?"

"I am!" Akira screamed from Hinata's arms. "Finally, I don't have to be the youngest one!"

Everyone seemed to laugh at her comment. Akiyo smiled and kept his gaze on her stomach. "Yeah, I'm excited." Akiyo said answering her question. "I want to teach him things, like Dad has taught me." Akiyo said looking at me.

I smiled at him and ruffled his hair with my other hand. For some reason, when he called me 'dad' now, it meant more. I couldn't help but get a feeling in my heart when he did. Of course, I wouldn't show that emotion besides a smile.

Sakura flinched next to me from a wave of pain, I assumed. I looked at her concerned but she just smiled. "I'm okay. Just contractions."

"Alright." I said nodding. "But if you need anything, you let me know." she nodded in return.

"Hey, Hinata..." Akira said, bringing everyone's attention to them. "Why are you getting fat?" Akira asked poking Hinata's stomach.

Sakura growled next to me. "Akira! That's rude! Tell Hinata your sorry!"

Hinata laughed. "Its okay, Sakura." Hinata said waving a hand. She looked at Akira. "I'm not getting fat, sweetie, I'm pregnant." Hinata said smiling.

"Pregnant?" Akira asked. "Like mommy?"

"Yes. That's right." Hinata said glancing at Sakura. Sakura flinched from another pain wave.

Akira smiled. "So, your gonna have a kid too!?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes we are. We're having a boy." Hinata said nodding.

Akira gasped. "Yay! Mommy! Their having a boy!"

Sakura laughed. "Yes they are." she said.

"What are you going to name the boy?" I asked.

Naruto stepped next to Hinata and laid his hand on her evergrowing stomach. He smiled. "We're naming him Kin."

"Kin?" Kiba said raising an eyebrow. "Kin??" he repeated.

"Yeah?" Naruto said raising an eyebrow of his own. "Whats wrong with it?"

"Nothing." Kiba said shaking his head. "Just that it's a lame name..." he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say!?" Naruto yelled. "Say it again, I DARE YA!"

"I SAID" Kiba shouted, putting his hands on his hips. "ITS. A. LAME. NAME."

"I'll demolish you!" Naruto shouted clenching his fists and attempting to walk over to Kiba. Ino and Shikamaru both held him back while Tenten sighed.

"Naruto! Chill out!" Shikamaru yelled. "How are you gonna act like that when Sakura could have this baby at any minute! Act like your mature for once!"

"Yeah, Naruto, stop being stupid!" Ino nagged too. Naruto finally just growled and stopped struggling against their grip. They let him go, while Kiba just smirked to himself. Sakura sighed and hit her palm against her head.

"I am _not _insane for hanging out with them, I am _not _insane for hanging out with them..." Sakura muttered to herself numerous times. I couldn't help but smile.

"I'm so happy that you guys are having a baby," Tenten said to Hinata. "I wish I had a kid."

"Don't worry, Tenten. I'm sure there is a way," Ino said with a sad expression on her face. Tenten sighed as she sat down in a chair.

"Maybe we could adopt..." she said disappointed. The room grew silent after that. I sighed as I looked at how sad Tenten looked. Her and Neji got married two years ago, and from what Neji has told the guys, and what Tenten has told the girls, Tenten can't have children. Neji told us that they even went to the doctor, and they said that there is something wrong with Tenten's system, which causes her not able to have children. Of course, they had tried many times, but all times were unsuccessful. I felt sorry for them, but somehow, they pulled through and still loved each other more than ever. Tenten so badly wanted kids, and so did Neji, but this misfunction made it impossible. Still, the two of them are happy together otherwise.

Sakura and I sighed weirdly at the same time. Now, we would wait.

___________

We sat there in the room with Sakura for the next three hours. Of course the longer we were in there, the more Sakura experienced pain. Soon, she would be ready to have Onari. When she started flinching more and letting out small screams, a bunch of us left. Hinata took Akira out of the room and Shikamaru, Kiba and Ino followed. Naruto, Tenten and Akiyo stayed. Soon after the others left, Neji arrived and brought some boxed lunches for all of us. Sakura didn't eat anything but a couple rice balls, and Tenten didn't eat at all. Envying Sakuras ability to have children, Tenten became upset. Her and Neji left the room soon after we got done eating, so Neji could comfort her alone. I felt so sorry for them.

Meanwhile, Akiyo sat calmly in his chair and read his school book. He had asked the nurse for a pen the last time she was in, and occasionally he would jot down a few notes on his hand. Soon, he left to go to the waiting room because Sakura was disturbing him with her minor screams from the contractions. Naruto stayed in the room with us, he and I would occasionally get into mindless chatter while Sakura was reminding herself that it would be over soon. Out of two times experiencing birth, I knew by now there was nothing I could do for Sakura except reassure her every once and a while and let her squeeze my hand.

"So _this _is what its like to go through childbirth..." Naruto said sighing. This was the first time Naruto had experienced childbirth, since he wasn't around when Akiyo was born and was on a mission when Akira was born. "I have to go through this when Hinata is giving birth?" he asked, referring to me.

"If your lucky," I said looking at Sakura. I took my hand and wiped her sweaty forehead. "Sometimes, its worse than this. Im surprised these contractions are going so easy. During Akiyo and Akira's births, she was howling like a banshee." I said rolling my eyes at the memories.

"You try squeezing a human child out of your"-

"Sakura." I said stopping her before the comment got ugly. She sighed.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little snappy..." she said clenching her teeth at pain. "Sasuke, can you please look and see how much I'm dilated?" she asked.

I nodded and began to lift up the blanket, when Naruto stopped me. "What are you doing!?" Naruto yelled out. "She doesn't have pants on under that blanket!"

I rolled my eyes. "Duh, Naruto. You can't have a baby with pants on."

"Then why are you going to lift up that blanket?" Naruto asked, astonished.

"To see if the baby is almost ready." I said. "What is your problem?"

"You act like you're a professional at this!" Naruto screamed.

"Well, I've been through it two other times." I said sighing. I lifted up the blanket and Naruto turned his head, covering his eyes for saftey.

"I can't believe you..." Naruto said annoyed. I sighed and put the blanket back down.

"Shut up and go get a nurse, Naruto." I said. I looked at Sakura. "It looks like your there. Now, remember not to push until the doctor comes and he tells you to do so."

"THE BABY IS COMING!?" Naruto screamed jumping from his chair.

I growled. "Yes! Now go get a doctor! Now!" I yelled annoyed. Naruto jetted out of the room and Sakura clenched onto my hand tighter.

"You ready to go through this again?" Sakura asked, a worried and tired look on her face.

"Of course." I said wiping some pink hair off of her sweaty face. She took a deep breath.

"I love you." She said looking into my eyes, emerald against black. I smiled.

"I love you too."

"Alright, lets see here," a doctor said barging in. He walked over to Sakura and I and lifted up the thin, blue blanket. He inspected for a minute, then nodded. "You are in transition. I am going to get a couple of nurses. Sasuke Uchiha, you are the father, correct?" he asked looking at me. I nodded. "I will need you to stand out of the way, and we would prefer it if nobody else was in the room besides you."

"Yes sir." I said getting up out of my stool. The doctor left to get some nurses, and I stepped to the other side of Sakura. Sakura had tears start to dwell in her eyes. I wiped them away and kissed her forehead. "Your okay." I reassured her.

A minute later, some nurses and the same doctor came into the room. He lifted up the blanket and put his doctors mask over his face. Sakura took a hold of my hand tightly, as the nurses gained their positions. The doctor looked up at her. "Alright, now when I say 'push', push as hard as you can."

Sakura nodded. "Ok-okay." she stuttered. I knelt down next to her in the bed so I was close to her face.

"Push." the doctor ordered. With all her might, Sakura pushed as hard as she could. I knelt by her, encouraging her and reminding her that she could do it. "Take a few breaths." the doctor ordered. She did so. "Push." he ordered again after a brief few seconds. Sakura pushed again with everything she had. She screamed in pain, because the transition was the worst part. "Take a breath." the doctor said after Sakura stopped. Sakura did and the cycle repeated for a good five minutes. Being there next to her, reminded me of Akiyo's birth. I was so relieved that we were in a hospital for Akira and Onari's birth. Akiyo was premature, and he almost died if it weren't for Neji. It also reminded me how I had almost lost Sakura, due to her lose of blood. I remembered while I was fighting Itachi, how I was worried about her and Akiyo. I remembered when I was so relieved that they had made it safely to the leaf village, and when I saw her that night. She was so excited to see me.

But with me next to her now, I was not afraid. I knelt there, wiping the sweat off of her face. I got in her ear: "Sakura, I love you, you can do this." I whispered. I whispered many reassuring words, until I was silenced by the cries of an infant baby.

Sakura and I gasped as we looked at the doctor. The doctor held a messy, bloody small baby in his arms and the infant cried as loud as his little lungs would let him. One of the nurses walked over and cut the umbilical cord, and the doctor raised him to his chest. He looked at us and smiled under his mask.

"Congratulations, you have a wonderful baby boy."


	13. Naruto, the idiot

**Authors note: **Sorry that it took a little longer with this chapter. School has been busy and I now am taking a karate class every Tuesday night and I have church on wednesdays, and you know...lol. But anyways, here is the next chapter.

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Sakura held Onari in her arms, wrapped tightly in a light blue blanket. She could hardly wait for them to clean him off, she was so eager to see her new son. I was happy too, seeing that he already had some black hair slathered on the top of his head, and he had Sakura's lips and cheekbones, while he had my nose and probably my eyes, even though I couldn't tell since his eyes were closed. Sakura held him to her chest and cried tears of joy.

"Oh, Sasuke," she said smiling and rubbing her finger slowly against Onari's cheek. "He's so beautiful."

"Of course he is," I said smiling down at Onari. "All the kids are, why wouldn't this one be?"

"I'll bet he has your eyes," Sakura said still looking at Onari. "Just like Akiyo."

I smiled. Although Akiyo was the spitting image of Itachi, she was right. He did have my eyes. I thought maybe they would change while he grew, but they didn't. They were exactly the same.

I heard the door open and I looked up to see who was coming in. It was Hinata and Akira, Akira firmly holding Hinata's hand. Hinata smiled when I looked at her.

"Congratulations," she said in her quiet voice. Akira practically jumped out of her skin when she saw Onari. She ran up and jumped on Sakuras lap, careful not to push the baby. She tried to poke Onari, but I grabbed her wrist and held it firmly to her side. She still stared in awe.

"Is that my baby brother?" Akira asked trying to poke his head with her other finger. I grabbed that one too, and placed it firmly to her side.

"Yes." Sakura said. "This is Onari, your new baby brother."

"And you can't poke him." I said in a stern voice. "He is just a baby, his head is very delicate."

"I can't even do a real fast poke?" Akira asked, for some reason fascinated in poking Onari.

"_No_." I said raising my eyebrow to form a serious face. "Akira, be good." I warned.

She laughed and shook out of my grasp. "I'll be good, Daddy, I promise!" she said nodding and covering her heart with he palms. I gave her a positive nod and turned to Onari.

"Now, Akira," Sakura said looking at Akira. "This is your baby brother. You have to take good care of him, and make sure that you are a good example and big sister to him."

"Like Akiyo takes care of me?" Akira asked.

I nodded. "Exactly."

"Like that time that those bullies were picking on me in the park, and Akiyo let out his sharingan and kicked the crap out of em'?"

I looked at her funny. "Do what now?" I asked. "Akiyo used the sharingan on some kids?"

"Um..er...no..." Akira said stuttering and shaking her head. I sighed. Obviously, she had let out a secret that the two of them promised never to tell us. I decided I'd let it go.

"Akira, don't sat 'crap'." Sakura said sternly, referring back to Akira's comment. "Its not a nice word, right Sasuke?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah." I said nodding to Akira. I don't know why Sakura thought of it as such a big deal, I said 'crap' all the time.

"May I hold him?" Hinata asked, approaching the bedside. Sakura nodded happily and handed Onari over, very carefully. With this opportunity, Akira crawled into Sakura's arms. Sakura held her tightly as she kept her eyes on Hinata. Hinata smiled as she rocked Onari carefully to her chest. "He is beautiful, Sakura!" she said excitedly.

"Thank you." Sakura said smiling. "I'm glad its finally over." she said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"Sakura and I decided we were going to have three kids to start off repopulating the Uchiha clan. It will take a while, but we decided three would be a good number." I explained.

"Only three? You guys are hesitant to repopulate the Uchiha clan, aren't you?" a voice asked from behind Hinata. Hinata moved to the side, and we saw Kiba walk into the room. He was holding a large present and he approached us.

Sakura laughed sarcastically. "Well, Sorry to break it to you, Kiba, but childbirth isn't exactly fun. There's only so much a girl can take!"

"Yeah, and your only twenty five," Hinata said continuing off my comment. "You are really young to have three children."

"Okay, okay, jeeze don't bite my head off." Kiba said laughing as he walked around Hinata and to Sakura. He laid the present on Sakura's lap, right in front of Akira. Akira's eyes grew wide at the size of it. "A present for the pup," Kiba said smiling sheepishly.

"Thank you, Kiba, that is very sweet!" Sakura said letting go of Akira to tear the bow off of the present. Akira crawled over to my lap and took my hands into her tiny ones, as we both watched Sakura open the large present. She tore off the wrapping paper and ripped the box open eagerly. Inside the box, was a large dog like puppet that had strings. Sakura picked it up and began playing with the dog puppet. She smiled and laughed. "Oh wow, Kiba, this is amazing! Look at all the details!" she said pointing to the wood carved fur on the dogs body. "How did you do this?" she asked amazed.

"Well, actually I can't take credit for it. Kankuro made it, I just paid him." Kiba said laughing. "Turns out Kankuro has started making puppets now, and when I sent word to him that you were having a baby and I wanted to do something special, he made it. Cost me a hundred bucks, but it seemed worth it. Im actually surprised it cost that much, I would have expected it to cost more."

"Kankuro? You mean from the sand village?" I asked looking straight at Kiba. I knew that we were now allies with the sand, but I didn't know that we were all that close. But then again, I was gone for a while before I came back.

"Yes." Kiba said nodding. "Me and Kankuro are pretty good friends. The only reason he made me pay was because he needed the materials."

I nodded. "Very nice. Thank you, Kiba."

Kiba smiled in return. Suddenly, Naruto came trailing in. He smiled his idiotic smile. "Is it me, or is that new baby smell in here?" he asked jokingly. He stood behind Hinata. "Let me see the little squirt." He said looking over her shoulder. Suddenly, he laughed. "Hey look, Sasuke, hes all curled up in a little ball. Hes so cute."

I stood up, putting Akira back on the bed. I walked over to Naruto to look at Onari. He was right, Onari was in a perfect ball shaped form against Hinata's chest. He was so peaceful that way.

"Ooo! Ooo!" Naruto yelled raising his hand in the air like he was wanting to answer a question in math class. "Can I hold him? Can I? Please?" Naruto begged looking at me. "Please, Sasuke? Please?"

I sighed. "I guess."

He practically jumped with joy as he held his arms out for the newborn. He opened and closed his hands like he was a baby wanting a bottle. Hinata carefully handed over the baby, her palm under his hand and an arm under his tiny body. Naruto took Onari with special care, and it was like his hyperness went away instantly. He rocked Onari carefully side to side and made an idiotic face to the infant.

"Who's a cute little Uchiha? You are! You are!" he said in a gooshy tone that I didn't like at all. No matter how happy I was now, I simply _refused _to talk that way. I may smile and laugh, but you will _never _catch me talking baby talk to a baby.

"Naruto, your acting like a fool." Sakura snapped. "Hes trying to sleep, just hold him like a normal human being!"

"I can't, hes just so cute!" Naruto said taking his finger and slowly sliding it down Onari's face.

Then it all happened so fast.

Naruto lost grip on his left hand, the one that was holding Onari. He gasped as Onari slipped through his arm. It was like slow motion, everything stopped except for the falling baby right before my eyes. My son. Without even thinking, I slid on the ground, under the falling child and cupped him against my chest as soon my arms surrounded him. Of course this woke Onari, and he began crying, hysterically. Everyone was completely silent except for Sakura screaming at the top of her lungs.

She finally stopped screaming when she saw I was on the ground, holding Onari firmly against my chest. I rose to my knees, holding Onari with both hands as I rose. Suddenly, everyone in the room let out a huge breath that they were holding, including myself.

"Onari! Give him to me!" Sakura ordered. Without hesitation, I walked to Sakura and handed her the baby. My eyebrows lowered, my ears ringing because of Onari's vicious cries, I turned to face Naruto.

Naruto's mouth was wide open and he was staring at Sakura and Onari. Hinata looked at him as if she didn't even know him, and Kiba was shaking his head angrily. I growled.

"You idiot! Do you realize that Onari could have died?!" I screamed. I walked over and grabbed Naruto by his collar. "Do you have any idea what you just did?!"

"I'm sorry!" Naruto shouted. "Really, Sasuke! I didn't mean to!"

"It doesn't matter if you meant to or not, if Onari would have hit that floor"-

"But he didn't!" Naruto screamed interrupting me. I growled as I pushed him into the nearest wall. I pulled back my fist and aimed it towards his face. He of course dodged and my hand made a dent in the wall. He jumped to the right of me and did the handsign for shadow clone jutsu.

But then Hinata stepped in front of him and Kiba took me by the shoulders and held me firmly. "Stop it, guys! Cut it out!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Yeah, Naruto! How dare you fight in a hospital, people could get hurt! Including Sakura and Onari!" Hinata nagged. That was probably the first time I had ever heard Hinata raise her voice.

"If your going to fight, at least do it outside where no one will get hurt!" Kiba added on. "You should know better than to put your family in danger, Sasuke! Look at them!"

Suddenly, I looked over to see the three family members on the bed. Sakura had Onari securely close to her chest and Akira was behind the side of the bed, her big eyes filled with tears. One escaped her eye and she sniffed.

"Daddy! Please don't hurt uncle Naruto! He didn't mean to, honest!" Akira exclaimed. Kiba let me go then, and Akira raced to my side. She grabbed my leg and buried her face into my waist. "Please, Daddy!" she begged.

I sighed and picked her up into my arms. Hinata then moved and had a worried look on her face, and so did Naruto. I rested her on my hip and kissed her small forehead.

"Don't worry, honey. I won't hurt uncle Naruto." I said reassuring, although all that ran through my mind was when I caught him alone I would surely beat the crap out of him.

She hugged my neck and tears ran down my skin. "Promise?" she mumbled into my skin.

"I promise." I said pulling her back. "I was just angry, but I'm okay now."

"I'm sorry that we worried you, Akira," Naruto said coming up and rubbing her small back. I glared at him. I knew he noticed it, but he pretended not to. "Your dad was just angry that I almost dropped Onari"-

"You _did _drop Onari you idiot!" I screamed interrupting him. Of course I regretted it as soon as it came out, because Akira started crying again. I sighed. "Akira, honey, its okay. I promise, nobody is going to fight anymore."

"O-okay." she stuttered.

Sakura sighed from her bed. That's when I noticed that Onari had finally stopped crying. "What a day..." she mumbled.

"I agree." Hinata said nodding.

Naruto sighed and looked at Sakura. "Sakura, I really didn't mean to drop Onari, honestly." he said, sincere.

"I know, Naruto. It just worried me, that's all." Sakura said looking down at Onari. "And Sasuke, I can understand why you were angry. But please try not to fly off the handle again."

I sighed. Did nobody understand that the son I've had less than a day almost died? I just decided I'd let it slide, for Akira's sake. I nodded. "Yes." I said.

"Sasuke, I do understand though." Naruto said turning to me. "I'm truly sorry. If anyone dropped my son, I'd fly off the handle too. Its okay, I deserved it."

"Forget it." I said shaking my head. "Everythings alright now, so just forget it."

Naruto nodded and turned to Hinata. He smiled at her stomach. "Speaking of our son, I can't wait till he gets here!" he said rubbing Hinata's stomach. "I'm excited!"

"I am too, but Naruto..." Hinata said pushing his hand away.

"What is it, Hinata?"

"I am not going to allow you to hold him until he is at least a year old." Hinata said biting her lip and turning to the side. Naruto gasped.

"What!? Not fair!" he screamed. We all laughed.


	14. Chidori

Everything went well for the next two days, so Lady Tsunade allowed Sakura and Onari to come home. I regretted coming home and not having Onari's room done yet, for now it was just a bare room with a baby crib and a changing station in it. I had mean't to paint the small room yellow and decorate it with stupid stuffed animals children seemed to adore. Of course I procrastinated and ended up not doing it. But hey, when you're a ninja and have two kids to take care of, you tend to be busy a lot.

Sakura sat on the white couch and rocked Onari close to her chest. She let out a large sigh as Akira followed her movements and sat next to her, still for some strange reason wanting to poke Onari's head. Sakura gave her a look and she backed off.

"Akira, what's the deal with you wanting to poke Onari's head?" Sakura asked raising a brow. "Its kind of...different."

"It just looks so soft." Akira said examining his head. She smiled as Onari looked at her with his big, black eyes that he inherited from me. "Hi, baby brother!" she said making a silly face at him. He did not respond, he just stared at her.

"Where's Akiyo?" I asked looking around as if I'd suddenly find him.

"He's training at the training grounds," Sakura said opening her shirt to breast feed Onari. Akira grimaced and jumped off the couch, obviously not wanting to see her feed him. She trotted to her room and I ruffled her hair as she walked by.

"Hes already started training again?" I asked. "We just got back from the hospital. The kid is a work-a-holic."

"Well, Sasuke, you do know that the genin exams are in less than two days." Sakura said as if she were reminding me. Which she was. I had totally lost track of the days!

"Oh, wow, today is Tuesday isn't it?" I asked shocked. She nodded. I sighed. "I totally forgot."

"Its okay, Sasuke. You were busy. Just be there when he does take them, Okay?"

"Of course." I said nodding. "I'm thinking about going to teach Akiyo a couple of moves anyway, since Naruto has given us a whole week off, thanks to Onari."

She smiled, pleased. "You should. It would give you guys some time to bond." she nodded and Onari got done feeding, pulling his little head away. Sakura grabbed a Kleenex that was on the end table and wiped her breast off, and zipped her shirt back up. Onari curled his little fists and closed his eyes, drifting.

"You need to get some rest, though. You haven't hardly slept for days." I said pointing a finger at her. "As soon as he is fully asleep, you go get in the bed. You hear me?"

"You don't have to tell me twice..." Sakura said holding Onari and standing up. "I'm exhausted."

I smiled. "Well, when I come back I can take a nap with you. Right now, I think I'm going to go see what Akiyo is up to."

She nodded and walked up to me. She puckered her lips and I leaned in and kissed her gently. She leaned away, only inches from my face and whispered: "Be back before I miss you too much."

I smiled. "I'll try." she kissed me again and then walked around me, on her way to Onari's room. I promised myself I would get his room done by the end of the week.

I slipped on the shoes that I had just slipped off, and walked out the door, closing it behind me. I sighed and sniffed fresh air as I walked. It looked around twelve in the afternoon, and I was glad that we didn't have to spend anymore nights in the hospital with Sakura. I hated being in the hospital unless it was necessary.

I walked down the village streets, noticing Tenten and Neji to the right of me. They were hand in hand and they smiled at me. I stopped and they stopped as well. Tenten smiled, obviously feeling better than she did the other day.

"Hey, Sasuke." Tenten said with a smile.

"Good morning, Sasuke." Neji said afterwards. I nodded.

"Good morning, Tenten, Neji. How you guys doing?"

"We're fine. Again, sorry for the little incident the other day." Tenten said, bashful.

I swiped my hand in the air. "Don't worry about it. I understand."

"I told you they would, sweetheart." Neji said almost in a whisper to Tenten. Tenten nudged him in the ribs with her elbow then looked at me with a giant smile.

"We've got some good news." she said nodding.

"Oh really? Well, lets hear it." I said crossing my arms and shifting more weight to my right side.

"Neji and I...have found a child to adopt." she said as excited as I had ever seen her before. I raised my eyebrows and smiled.

"Really? That's great guys! Who's the lucky kid?" I said looking at Neji. Neji was smiling too as he opened his mouth to speak.

"His name is Jiro. He was the second son of his mother, but she and his older brother died in a tragic house fire when he was younger. He is nine years old and he has been an orphan since he was five. Tenten and I searched up some places and found connections. We've already met the child, and he is a very sweet and intelligent boy." Neji explained. "We are going to sign all the paperwork and get everything situated this Friday. We are very excited and they say that Jiro is also excited that he will finally be in a family again."

I clapped my hands together. "Guys, that is awesome! I can't wait to meet him. Sakura will be very happy."

"Oh, don't tell her." Tenten said holding her hands out. "We want to tell her."

I nodded. "Okay, not a word." I said holding a finger to my lips. "I'm very happy for you. See? Everything works out in the end."

Neji and Tenten nodded. "It does." Tenten said looking at Neji. "I'm so happy."

"I'm glad." Neji said kissing her forehead. Neji held Tenten to his side by her waist and he looked at me. "But where are you going? You should be at home relaxing. I know that hospital must have worn you out."

I sighed. "Yeah, it did. I'm heading to the training field to maybe teach Akiyo a couple moves. The genin exams are Thursday, you know."

"Oh yeah! They are, aren't they?" Tenten said snapping her fingers. "I'm sure Akiyo will make it. The kid is a genius!"

"Thanks." I said smiling. "Well, I'd better get going. I'll see you guys, and keep me updated about Jiro!"

They nodded and waved. "Will do. See you!" Tenten exclaimed. I gave her a nod and started sprinting to the training field.

While I was sprinting, I was thinking about Jiro. I'm sure the boy was nice, and Tenten and Neji would make excellent parents. I was so glad that everything worked out for them, with Tenten not being able to have children of her own. I couldn't wait to meet the kid, and I was positive he would be happy with Tenten and Neji. I smiled as I could see Sakura's face light up when they told her.

It didn't take me long to get to the training grounds, and as usual, when I got there Akiyo was straight at work. He was practicing his substitution jutsu while practicing his clone jutsu as well. He was very good at it.

"Can you create more than three clones?" I asked. Akiyo gasped, startled as he turned around to face me. He smiled when he saw that I was not here to take him back home.

"I'm trying. Its difficult to focus my chakra to make four. But I feel pretty proud of them, considering everyone in my class can only make two." Akiyo explained. "It makes me feel ahead."

"You are ahead." I said walking to him. "You're a Uchiha, you're a born genius."

He smiled. "Thanks."

"Why don't you take a break and we can go eat lunch?" I asked. "Just me and you. What do you say?"

Akiyo shook his head. "I grabbed a rice ball from the store on my way here. I'm not so hungry."

I pursed my lips and nodded. "Alright. That's okay."

"Is there a reason you came?" he asked, turning around and forming a clone in front of him.

I shook my head, not like he could see it. "No. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Oh. Well what do you think?" he asked turning to me, his eyes filled with curiosity.

I grinned. "I think your going to pass those genin exams."

He bit his lip. "I hope so."

"If you pass the exams, I may even teach you a little move or something...you know..." I said letting my eyes wonder.

"A new move? Really?" Akiyo asked. "Like what?"

"Hmm..." I said as if I were thinking. "I'm thinking...maybe Chidori."

"Chidori?" Akiyo repeated. "What's that?"

"What's Chidori?" I asked in an over exaggerating voice. "You mean I've never showed you Chidori?"

"No." Akiyo said turning his full body to me. "Can you show me?"

Without a response, I jumped back a couple feet, separating myself from Akiyo. I locked my eyes on a log and made the familiar hand signs that I was an expert at. I grabbed my right hand with my left and held it close to the ground. Like normal, the blue lighting like chakra filled my palm, following the sound of many chirping birds. With full speed, I aimed my chidori at the log and ran towards it. When I reached the log, I forced the chidori into it with all my might, not only tearing the log apart, but sending it flying through the woods. The chidori vanished, and I looked over at Akiyo. His eyes were as big as planets.

"T-thats chidor??" he stuttered. I nodded.

"Mhm."

"You can teach me that?!" Akiyo exclaimed. I had never seen him so excited!

"Yes. My old sensei taught it to me, and I can teach it to you. On one condition." I said raising my finger up. Akiyo stopped.

"What? What condition? I'll do anything!"

"Pass the genin exams. You have to at least be a genin before I can teach you moves like that." I said resting my palms on my hips. "Can you do that?"

Akiyo nodded and smiled. "Yeah! I promise, I'll pass those exams and learn Chidori!"


	15. Graduation

**Authors note:** I am so sorry it took so long to update. I was SO busy, it wasn't even funny...lol. So don't think I forgot!! Lol. But anyway, heres the next chapter.

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Thursday came in a flash. Akiyo was up in a flash this morning, and was dressed, ready to go. Akira didn't want to wake up, but had to since she had school. Akiyo's genin exams would be at exactly twelve o'clock this afternoon. Which sadly, meant that Akira would be in school. But that was alright, she didn't get the whole concept of genin exams anyway.

Sakura, Onari and I were outside in the academy yard, waiting patiently. It was now one o'clock, which meant that the exams already started. Sakura sat on a bench with Onari, trying to calm him from a fit he was having.

"Sh, sh, Onari..." Sakura whispered to the crying infant. "Sasuke, he doesn't like the heat." she said turning her face up to see me.

"There isn't much we can do," I said crossing my arms. "Besides, Akiyo will be out shortly."

The yard was filled with plenty of other parents, waiting for their children to come racing out the door either in smiles, or in tears. So far, at least five children had come out of the academy doors, three who had passed and two who had failed. But of course their parents said it would be okay, and that they could try again next year. All the children to me, looked over the age of ten.

A knot grew in my chest. Akiyo was only ten. Could he pass the exams? I slapped my forehead with my palm. Of course he could. He's a Uchiha, and I saw him summon clones with my own eyes. I shouldn't be worried.

Sakura growled. "Sasuke, I can't calm him down."

I sighed and sat on the bench with Sakura. I held my arms open and let her place Onari in my arms. I rocked him for a few seconds, and still he cried. He looked at me with dark eyes, and big crocodile tears racing down his cheeks. Onari was a little baby, and his eyes sometimes looked too big for his little face. I kissed his cheek and rocked him back and forth, fanning his little face with my other hand.

Surprisingly, after a while he stopped crying. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. I stopped fanning after that. I handed the sleeping infant back to Sakura, and she smiled at me, telling me 'thank you'. I nodded in return and stood up. I was too antsy to sit.

I sighed impatiently as I watched a small, auburn headed boy run out of the academy with a headband tied securely to his forehead. His father, I assumed, knelt down and took the child into his arms. He practically cried with joy. I so badly wished that my father could have seen me graduate. But of course, when I became a genin, Itachi had already massacred the clan years before. I wanted so bad to know that my father was proud of me, even after all this time...

"Sasuke," Sakura said tugging my shoulder. "I think we should celebrate if Akiyo graduates today." she smiled.

I nodded. "We can go out to eat."

"Or," Sakura said standing off the bench with Onari tightly in her arms. "We could throw a surprise party at home. I'm good at that stuff, you know." she was right. She was.

"Isn't that short notice, though?" I said watching Onari's faint breathing.

"Well, Onari just got done feeding, so he should be asleep for a while. And I can run by the market on my way home..." Sakura said tapping a finger to her chin. "How about that?"

"What would you get at the market?"

"Oh, party stuff, like balloons, cake, finger foods...stuff like that." she said. "However, I don't have any money...I give all my money to you."

I reached into my pocket and drew out the small, brown wallet that held all my money in. I opened it up and brought out thirty dollars, which should be plenty if she wasn't going to go all ballistic and buy the most expensive finger foods. I held it in my open palm and she took it from me, scrunching it up in her own hand. She reached to my face and kissed the side of my mouth, not particularly on my lips.

"I love you. I think this party will make Akiyo happy." Sakura said grinning. "Plus, I think it best I get Onari out of this heat." I nodded and turned my face towards the academy doors. I felt small fingers grab my chin and pull my face back to the left of me. She looked at me and held my face still, while she held Onari in her other arm. She kissed my scrunched up lips and whispered. "I love you."

"Love you too." I whispered against her lips as she dove in for another kiss. She let go of me then, shoved the money in her pocket, and turned around, making her way out of the academy yard.

I scratched a place on my arm as I turned around to look at the academy again. A small, blue haired girl came running out in tears. She shouted that they had not passed her because she couldn't create two clones properly and that she needed some work. I felt bad for her, but her mother patted her on the back and said "its okay, honey. Theres always next year, and you'll knock em dead. Plus, we can even go out for ice cream if that would make you feel better." the little girl nodded and took her mothers hand, the two of them leaving the academy.

I sat down on the bench as the two of them left. I laced my fingers together and twidled my thumbs. Bored, I looked around the academy to see all the faces that were here. I actually was very surprised when I saw Shikamaru coming in the academy. He noticed me immediately, and made his way over. Thats when I recognized the small little girl behind him. He was holding her hand tightly.

"Sasuke," Shikamaru said with a nod, greeting me.

"Shikamaru," I said nodding back. I smiled at Mai. "Hello, Mai."

"Hi, Mr. Uchiha," Mai said touching her finger to her lip. Her pale blue eyes shined when she looked at me. Then she looked up at her father and tugged his sleeve. He ignored her.

"You don't have to call me Mr. Uchiha," I said. "Just call me Sasuke."

"Daddy says thats a form of respect," Mai objected.

"And your father is very right," I said smiling a crooked smile. "But we're buddies. You don't have to show respect to me, you can just talk to me like you would any other one of your friends."

"No I can't," she said snickering. "I can't talk about boys with you."

I laughed. "Guess not, huh? But you can talk to Akira."

"Yeah! Akira is my best friend. She's always saying how boys have cooties." Mai said laughing. Shikamaru and I smirked.

"Good, keep thinking that." Shikamaru said nudging Mai with his arm. She looked up and smiled at him. He looked at me. "So what are you doing here? Oh yeah, Akiyo is in the exams, isn't he?" he asked, but ended up answering his own question.

"Yeah. He's been in there for about an hour...Sakura took Onari home and they are going to set up a party."

"A party?" Mai asked, her eyes growing large. "Can I come?"

"Mai, its rude to invite yourself." Shikamaru nagged.

"Oh, its alright." I said reassuing Shikamaru. "If you want to. The more the merrier." I said answering Mai's question. I looked at Shikamaru. "Do you and Ino want to come?"

"Can't. Got a mission." Shikamaru said rolling his eyes. "Trying to find someone to watch her." he said nodding his head down at Mai.

I shrugged. "I can watch her. She wants to come to the part anyway."

"You don't have to"-

"No, I want to." I said smiling. "No big deal, besides you watch Akiyo and Akira for us all the time when we have missions. Its no problem. Her and Akira can play together."

"Well," Shikamaru said as if he were thinking about it. "If your sure..."

"I'm positive." I said taking Mai's other hand and leading her to me. She let go of Shikamaru's and crawled on my lap. "See, me and Mai are good buddies."

"Yeah, Daddy can I stay with Mr. And Mrs. Uchiha?" she asked. "Oops, I mean, Sasuke and Sakura?" I laughed.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Why not." he said. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I hope you didn't think I came just to dump my daughter on you."

"Of course not." I shook my head. "Where are you going now?"

"I had to pick something up here for Naruto." he rolled his eyes again. "Such a pain now that he's hokage."

I laughed. "He's always been a pain."

"Thats true." he snorted. "Our kids don't know the half of it."

"Don't know what?" Mai asked biting her lip.

"Nothing, baby." Shikamaru said ruffling her hair. "But, I guess I'd better go get this for him."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Some paperwork or something." he said shoving his hands in his pockets. He eyed Mai. "You be good for them, you hear me?"

"Yes, Daddy." she said nodding. I smiled as he smiled.

"I love you."

"Love you too." Mai shrieked.

He gave me a nod goodbye, and then he was off. Mai crawled from my lap and sat next to me on the bench as she watched her father sprint off. "Sasuke?" she asked.

"Hm?"

"How long have you known my daddy?"

"For a long time," I said looking at her blue eyes. "Since we were even your age."

"Did you know my mommy too?"

"I sure did." I said nodding. "And don't tell...but she used to have a crush on me." I whispered.

"Really? But you're a boy...you have cooties!" she exclaimed. I laughed and patted her knee.

"I guess I do."

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Did you have a daddy?" she asked. A smile disappeared off my face. For some reason, the little girls comment shot right through me. I found myself hesitating before I answered.

I cleared me throat. "Yes, erm. I did."

"What happened to him?" she asked, curiously. I knew she was just a little girl, so she knew nothing about the Uchiha massacre. She wouldn't learn about it until she was older. I sighed and tried to shake it off.

"He..uh...passed away." I said looking to the side.

"Oh...I'm sorry." she apologized. I faked a smile and ruffled her hair.

"Thats okay. Its not your fault."

Mai was quiet. I could tell she felt bad for me, so I just left her alone. I turned to look at the academy doors, and I saw Akiyo walking out of it calmly. Of course, there was a headband tied to his head.

I jumped up, excitedly as if that conversation with Mai never even happened. Akiyo made his way over to us with a smile spread across his face.

"Akiyo! You passed!" I yelled with joy. I ran up to Akiyo and threw my arms around his shoulders. Mai was right behind me, smiling herself.

"It was so easy, dad!" he exclaimed leaning away from me. "Orientation is this Saturday. I'm real excited!"

"I'm so proud of you." I said standing up and ruffling his hair.

"Dad, this means you can teach me that chidori trick now, right?" he asked excitedly. I laughed and closed my eyes, shaking my head.

"You just graduated, Akiyo. Lets let it settle for a couple weeks."

"But I want to learn it"-

"And you will." I promised looking down at him. "But I want you to first learn chakra control before you start to learn chidori. I'm sure your sensei will teach it to you soon."

He crossed his arms. "Seriously?" he asked crossing his arms. "I thought I'd learn it right after I graduated!"

"I'm sorry that I made you think that. I will defenitly teach it to you, but lets just give it a rest first. You have things to learn before you can do it, and the chidori won't be easy to master."

"But I'm ready for it"-

"And by the time you learn chakra control, you'll be even more ready." I said ruffling his hair. "Now c'mon. We've got a surprise for you at home."


	16. Party

**Authors note: **Hopefully I can start updating more frequently again than I have been here latley...lol. Oh yeah, and I have started on my ItaSaku story. I have the first chapter done, and the story is called "Love for his brother" Check it out :D Oh, and if you have a better title for the story, message me and tell me. Because I don't really like it, but its what I've come up with for the time being. Lol. Thanks, no flames.

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Mai and Akiyo talked among themselves as we made our way back to the house. Akiyo kept pestering me, trying to get me to tell him what the surprise was at home, but I wouldn't ruin it. To give Sakura some extra time, I stopped to window shop some. Especially at the weapon store, where I saw they had a new kind of Kunai. Akiyo was growing impatient, so I didn't stay there long.

Finally, we got to the house. I turned to look at Akiyo and Mai, my hand tightly on the doorknob. "You ready?" I asked.

Akiyo rolled his eyes. "Yes." he said annoyed. Mai was jumping up and down, begging me to open the door. I twisted the knob, and opened it to see the house looking rather normal. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. I gave Sakura almost two hours to set up, what was she doing? Speaking of Sakura, she was no where in sight.

Mai tugged on my arm. "Wheres the party?" she asked.

"Party?" Akiyo raised his brow. I shook my head.

"No, there is no party." I said giving Mai a look. Mai must have caught it, because she shut her mouth. But then, we all three looked around confused. Akiyo sighed.

"Well, if there is a party..." he said slipping off his shoes and jumping on the couch. "Its pretty lame."

"Sakura?" I called, closing the door and leading Mai to the couch with Akiyo. I got no response.

"Mom?" Akiyo called.

"Mrs. Uchiha?" Mai echoed after Akiyo.

Suddenly, balloons were thrown from nowhere, whistles were whistling through the house, and many human bodies jumped out of the smallest cracks. Mai and Akiyo both screamed in shock, while I was on the floor. I must have fallen back when they came out of no where, but I didn't even realize it.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Many people screamed at the same time. Kiba was one of the many people in the room, and he was by my side in an instant, pulling my arm and laughing.

"Haha, you were more surprised than Akiyo was." he said pulling me off the ground and dusting my back. I took a deep breath and tried to get my breathing under control again.

"I didn't know she was planning _this..._" I said, my hand over my heart. "When did you guys get here?"

"She came by the house and told us about it. She said she had to get the decorations up, but to invite everyone. Shino, and I rushed to everyone's house to get them. Akira got here a couple minutes ago," he said nodding his head to the little pink haired girl who was playing with a balloon along with Mai. "Of course Naruto and team nine aren't here. I assume that you saw Shikamaru, since you have his daughter..."

"Yeah, he told me that had a mission." I said nodding. "I can't believe the wonders of women..how in the world they can put all this together in such a short amount of time..." I said looking around shaking my head in amazement.

Kiba laughed. "Women are amazing human beings, aren't they?" he said.

"What do you think?" Sakura's voice asked from behind me. She threw her arms around my neck and snuggled her face in my neck. Kiba scowled playfully, and walked to the kitchen, where I assumed most of them had gone.

"Seriously, Sakura," I said turning around to see her. I grabbed her wrists and she stepped on her tippy toes, to reach my face. I grinned. "This is amazing."

"I think Akiyo likes it," she said, her lips inches from mine. "I'm sorry I scared you."

I kissed her lips gently and whispered. "It's alright."

"I'll make up for it tonight..." she said with a flirtatious smile. I raised both my eyebrows, as if I were intrigued. "And no backing out. You said when Onari was here, we would...and I aim to make you keep that promise.." she said latching her lips on my neck.

I pulled her away gently and kissed her lips. "You can do that," I said nodding. "But not now. Not at Akiyo's party...don't get me riled up." I flirted.

She laughed. "Okay." she kissed me. "Shino told everyone to go in the kitchen. We're going to cut the cake for Akiyo. We should go in there before they call for us"-

"MOMMY! GET IN HERE, I WANT SOME CAKE!" Akira screamed from the kitchen at the top of her lungs. Sakura and I both snickered together. She took my hand into hers and I began leading her to the kitchen.

When we got in there, I was shocked to see how crowded the kitchen was. I had always thought our kitchen was rather big, but with all these people, I didn't think that anymore. Akiyo was sitting in a chair, right in front of the cake.

"I bought the cake. I didnt have time to make one," Sakura whispered. She let go of my hand and smiled. She walked over and kissed Akiyos forehead, technically kissing the headband. "I'm so proud of you. Congratulations, honey." she said smiling.

"Yeah, you did excellent!" Hinata exclaimed from his right. Tenten followed with a nod of approval.

"We put candles in it," Sakura said shoving one more candle on the smooth icing cover that covered the large cake.

"Why?" Akiyo asked. "Its not my birthday."

"We call them 'good luck' candles. You'll need a lot of luck, becoming a ninja. It can get rough out there." Sakura explained.

"That's right," Lee said shoving between Hinata and Tenten. "Being a ninja can be difficult. You must train hard!"

"But don't knock yourself out when doing it, like Lee does." Tenten said rolling her eyes. "It's good to excel at your own pace."

"Your going to be fine," Neji said from behind Tenten, his arms securely around her waist. "You are a genius."

"Just like the Uchiha clan." Hinata said nodding happily.

Akiyo smiled for a moment, and then looked down as if he were thinking. Sakura noticed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Honey? Are you alright?"

"I'm a genius," Akiyo said squinting as if he were looking at something on the wooden table. "Like my father?"

Nobody said anything. It was so quiet, the only thing heard was faint breathing and nervous shifts of the body. Sakura bit her lip, wanting to say something, but I could tell by her expression, she didn't know what to say. Akira and Mai were looking around curiously, not having a clue what was going on. I sighed as I made my way through the crowd and bended down next to Akiyo.

"Erm...Akiyo?" I asked, putting a hand gently on his thigh. He looked at me, his black eyes filled with curiosity and wonderment.

Then, he smiled. "I think we should blow out these candles."

I heard Sakura sigh beside me as the room began to fill with talking again. I smiled and patted Akiyo's leg. Ignoring Mai and Akira's complaints about taking too long to eat the cake, Akiyo took a deep breath and blew out the candles with one blow.

* * *

The party lasted for many hours. Everyone sat around eating and joking around, and just having a good time. Akiyo spent most of his time listening to many of the other ninja's stories, such as Lee, Neji, Kiba and many others. He was very intrigued by what thy went through and I could see his eyes glow every time they told him they always pulled through. I smiled at the sight.

Mai and Akira ran all over the place, playing with balloons like they were volleyballs. Sakura had to get Onari from his crib around five, because he was woken up by a balloon that had popped. She breast fed him and sat with him on the couch, and I soon joined her. We talked about mindless chatter, such as who would be a good babysitter for Onari when we had to go back to our ninja lives and she had to go back and work in the hospital. One thing was for sure, we refused to leave him in Naruto's care.

Speaking of Naruto, he came by later when most of the others left because they had missions to do tomorrow. He came to tell us that team nine would be out on an overnight mission, which mean that Mai would be spending the night. Akira was pleased.

Naruto sat down next to me on the couch, a piece of cake and began chomping down on it. He looked at Onari and smiled.

"He's so cute"-

"Nope." I objected.

Naruto looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "What do you mean 'NOPE'??"

"Your not holding him." I said shaking my head. Sakura laughed. She could tell we were about to start bickering back and forth.

"I wasn't going to ask that!"

"Yes you were."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were."

"Okay, I was." Naruto said finishing his cake and setting the plate to the table beside him. "I already told you I didnt mean to drop him..." he said pouting.

Hinata came out of the kitchen, her hand on her stomach. She sighed as she took a seat next to Naruto, therefore, filling our couch. Naruto took her hand and glared at me before he put his attention on Hinata.

"Thats okay," he murmured. "I'll have a baby of my own someday..."

"Don't trust him." Sakura teased. Naruto glared at her too and started to pout. Hinata laughed.

"Did everyone leave?" I asked looking around, noticing that it had gotten pretty quiet.

"A lot of them did," Hinata said with a sigh. "I think that Kiba, and Lee are outside getting some air. I know that Neji and Tenten went home, they mentioned something about having to fill out paper work..." she said confused. I, of course, knew what she mean't. Obviously, they had not told everyone else yet. I would have told them about Jiro, but I would leave it to them.

"Yeah," I said stretching. "Well, a lot of them have missions tomorrow too."

"It is getting late," Hinata said tugging at Naruto's sleeve. "We should head out soon."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said nodding and laying his head back. "Just let me get a rest in."

"Hey, where's Akiyo?" Sakura asked, bringing attention to her. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"Hm, thats a good question." Hinata said looking around. "Last time I saw him, he was walking outside with Lee. Lee was telling him a story about a mission he went on. He went outside with him, but I don't think he ever came back in."

"I'll go out there and see where he is." I said forcing myself out of Sakura's hold. She gave me a disappointed look, not wanting me to get up. I gave her a reassuring smile and patted her leg as I stood.

I turned to the door and heard the three of them begin to talk about Onari and how he slept. I stepped outside the door, into the chilly air. I didn't have to look far to find Akiyo, because he was right in front of me. When I shut the door behind me, he looked up, his headband not on his forehead.

I examined him. "You okay?" I asked.

Akiyo nodded, but I could tell he was lying. "Lee and Kiba went to the weapon shop stock up their pouches. They asked if I wanted to go along, but I said no. I just wanted to stay and think about things."

I sat down on the step next to him and laid my elbows on my knees. I saw the headband in his hands and he fiddled with it. "Whatcha thinkin about?" I asked.

"My father." he said bluntly. "Was he...erm..." he began but he didn't continue.

"What is it?" I tempted.

"Was he like me?" he asked. "Like...a genius, like me?"

I sighed and nodded. "We are all genius's."

"So...he graduated early?" Akiyo asked.

I nodded. "He was seven."

Akiyo gasped. "Seven?? That's so young!" I nodded yes. Akiyo sighed. "Dad..." he began.

"Hm?"

"Do you think...I'll be like him?"

This caught be offguard. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well he is my father...we're both genius's...we both graduated young, cause Dad, I was the youngest in the exams this year..." he said nodding. "They asked me why I was so young, and I heard someone say 'because thats _his _son.' it made me feel...weird."

"Akiyo," I said putting an arm around his shoulders. "People will resent you from where you come from. There are people who accept, and people who resent. But just know this..." I said looking at him. "We will always accept you."

Akiyo smiled. "Thanks Dad..." he said. Then he frowned. "I just think about it sometimes."

"Don't," I said shaking my head. "You are you and your father is your father. You may look like him, but you don't have to be like him. Remember that."

Akiyo smiled again and nodded. "I will, dad."


	17. Bed time story and a fun night

**Authors note: **alright, we are VERY close to the end of the sequel!! And oh yeah, I just wanted to let everyone know that after tonight, I will NOT be writing for a whole week. Im fasting it for my church, since writing is my passion…*sighs* its going to be hard for me. But I just wanted to let you in on what is going on. However, here is the next chapter.

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Hinata and Naruto went home after they helped clean up the house some. Mai, of course, spent the night and was in the bathroom, borrowing some of Akira's pajamas. Akiyo was in his room, most likely throwing darts at his dart board, determined to get it in the middle. He usually did that when he was bored. It was rounding nine o'clock and Sakura had just finished rocking Onari to sleep. I was stretched out on the sofa, and Sakura came from Onari's bedroom.

She sighed but smiled. "The party was successful. Akiyo seemed to have had a good time."

I nodded. "It was nice of everyone to come and show him support."

Sakura made her way to the couch and squeezed herself between the arm of the couch and my chest, she laid her head on my shoulder and began tracing circles on my bicep.

"Remember what you promised me…" she flirted.

I laughed. "I remember."

She looked up at me, emerald eyes staring into mine. "I love you." she whispered. "so much."

"I love you too." I said giving her a nod.

"Did you talk to Akiyo when you went out there?" she asked, totally changing the subject.

I sighed. "I did."

"Well," she began. "what was it about?"

"Itachi." I said rolling my eyes.

Sakura was quiet for a few moments before she took a deep breath. "What did he say?" she asked, tracing her finger up and down my chest.

"He asked me if he would turn out like him," I said swallowing before I answered. Sakura shuttered beside me.

"That won't happen." she said matter of factly. "I won't let it."

"Akiyo doesn't have the same heart as Itachi. Sure he looks like him and he can be quiet like him too, but he isn't him. He wont be like Itachi." I promised. "trust me."

"Your right." Sakura said nodding. "Akiyo is a good kid."

I nodded in response. All of a sudden, I heard a roar of laughter coming from Akira's room. Sakura sighed and began to get up, but I stopped her. "I'll get them." I said. She smiled and I kissed her gently, standing up from the couch.

I stretched my arms out and walked my way down the narrow hall, reaching Akira's room at the end of it. I turned the knob, stepping into the small girls room. Mai and Akira were jumping on the bed, and stopped immediately when they saw me.

"Akira," I said crossing my arms in disapproval. "what are you doing jumping on the bed?"

"Im sorry, Daddy. Don't spank me!" Akira pleaded.

I raised my eyebrow. "Spank you? Akira, you haven't been spanked a day in your life! Why would I start now?"

"Mai says her daddy spanks her when she does something bad. I don't want to be spanked…" she said with a sad expression.

"Your daddy spanks you?" I asked Mai.

"Well…sometimes. Like…when I was little.." Mai confessed.

I laughed. "See, Akira, Mai doesn't even get spanked anymore. You guys are too old for that. But anyway, I came to tell you guys its time to get to bed. It'll be ten o'clock soon, and you have school tomorrow."

"Oh, okay." Akira said sitting down on her bed, Mai followed. Since the two of them were so small, they could both fit in her bed. I walked over and held the covers open so that the two of them could slip under them. Akira did and then Mai followed. I reached down and kissed Akira's forehead and ruffled Mai's black hair.

"Goodnight guys." I said turning on my heels to leave.

"Wait," Akira called.

I turned. "what is it?" I asked.

"Can you…um…tell us a story first?" she asked.

"A story?" I repeated. "what kind of story?"

"A princess story!" Mai shrieked. I wanted so badly to roll my eyes, grunt and just walk away, but I reminded myself that I was dealing with little girls here.

"A…erm…princess story?" I repeated. "I'm not so good at those."

"Silly, my daddy's good at ninja stories!" Akira said laughing.

"How about a ninja princess story then?" Mai asked, excited.

I forced myself to laugh. "um, okay, I can try." I said. I sat down on the side of Akira's bed, the two girls making room for me. "lets see…okay. Once there was a princess named…um…Akahana. She was very beautiful and very strong. But people wanted her for her powers, so they often tried to kidnap her, but she was too much for them. Until one day, a ninja was stronger than her and she was kidnapped. However, one of her servants, named, Mihao, he was secretly a ninja. When the princess was kidnapped, her went after her. When he finally reached the enemy, he took him out with ease, therefore, rescuing the princess. Akahana was so grateful, that she offered to pay him. He did not want her money, however, just the love of a beautiful princess. The two of them fell in love and they were together forever. The end." I said, rushing through a fairy tale. I hated fairytales.

Mai had a perculiar look on her face. "that wasn't much of a story…" she said.

"Its what I got," I said smiling. I stood up. "im not good at princess stories. But you two sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." I reached down at kissed Akira's forehead again and patted Mai's head. I left as the two of them began talking about the story I had just told them, and I turned out the lights. I told them not to stay up talking too late, and they said they wouldn't.

I made my way to Akiyo's room, and knocked. He said 'come in'. I opened the door and saw Akiyo meditating on his bed. He cracked open his eye, his headband was still tied to his forehead.

"Dad?" Akiyo said, his hands formed into prayer hands.

"Came to tell you its time to go to bed." I said shortly.

"Oh, okay." he said unfolding his legs and jumping off the bed. "thanks for the party." he thanked as I began to turn around.

"You should thank your mother, she's the one who did it."

"I will." Akiyo said, taking off his shirt. He grabbed a blue shirt and slipped it on, and did the same with his pants, slipping on some plaid pajama pants. He jumped into bed and sat up for a moment, untying his headband and laying it on the night stand table. I smiled.

"Your proud of your headband, huh?" I asked.

He nodded and smiled. "Yes. I felt like I worked hard to get it."

"You did," I said nodding. "you should be very proud. We are proud."

"Im glad. I wanted to make you proud."

"I've always been proud of you." I said smiling. I got a smile back then I turned around. "goodnight, Akiyo."

"Night, dad." Akiyo said turning off his lamp and pushing his body under the comforter. Smiling, I stepped outside and closed his door behind me.

I walked to mine and Sakura's room, not surprised at all to see her laying on the bed in her bra and underwear. She smiled at me, flirtatious.

"The kids in bed?" she asked.

"Yes." I answered walking over to her. "maybe we should give them a minute to get to sleep though."

"But I want you now…" Sakura said pulling my wrists to come on top of her. I smiled as I leaned above her, her small body below me. I kissed her lips and she pulled me into a deep kiss. She pulled my head closer to her and wrapped her legs around my waist. I pulled away and smiled as she began kissing my neck.

"You are so impatient…" I teased.

I felt her smile against my neck. "your just so hot." she laughed.

"I know." I said as if I were cocky. She smiled again as she began pulling at the edges of my shirt.

"Now?" she begged.

I sighed. "Fine." then I let her take off my shirt. I pressed against her as we began kissing into a deep kiss.

Tonight would be interesting.


	18. We need to talk

**Authors note: **Hey!!! im finally done fasting :) So that means I can update regularly again! Sorry for the wait, but heres the next chapter!

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I awoke the next day with Sakura's body pressed up against mine. Her breathing brushed up against my bare chest as I cracked one eye open to see the sun shining through my room. I glanced over at the clock. 12:00 am.

I groaned. "Sakura," I said shaking her lightly. She moaned as she hesitated to wake up. "Sakura," I said more firmly. She groaned as she cracked her eyes open. She buried her face into my bicep.

"What..." she mumbled.

"You overslept. Your supposed to be at the hospital right now." I said trying to sit up. She stopped me.

"No," she said calmly. "I called in sick when I took the kids to school."

"What?" I asked, my brow raised.

"I got up at eight to get the kids up. I took them to school and on my way back, I stopped at the hospital and told them I was sick. So don't worry." she said answering my question. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arm around my waist as she began to doze off again.

"You got up this morning?"

"Mhm." she moaned, taking a breath.

"Oh," I said nodding to myself. "Well, I have to get up."

Sakura growled. "Why?"

"Because I need to go make sure Naruto doesn't have any missions for me to do today."

"He doesn't." Sakura said harshly. "Go back to sleep."

"Sakura, you don't know that."

"I do too." She said lowering her pink eyebrows.

"Honey, let me up." I said grabbing her wrist and pushing her off. She growled and jerked her wrist away from me. She turned away and sighed and annoyed sigh. I copied her with a sigh of my own. "There is nothing I'd rather do then spend the day with you in bed, but I have to go."

"I know." she snapped, with almost sarcasm in her voice.

"I love you." I pushed.

"Love you too, now go so I can get to sleep!" she growled again. I couldn't help but smile as I threw the covers off of my body and stand up. She was beautiful, even when she was mad.

I grabbed my black robe off of the dresser, tied it around me, and headed for the shower. I guess I must have made a loud noise when I closed the bedroom door, because Onari started crying in the other room. I sighed as I changed my direction towards the crying infant's room.

I opened the door to see Onari waving his little fists in the air and crying, his face red as a tomato. The small puppet that Kankuro had made for him, dangled from the ceiling above his crib. Other than a few stuffed animals, a rocking chair in the corner, and a diaper changing center to the left, the room was bare.

I walked over to Onari and took him into my arms. He stopped immediately when he saw my face, and only sniffled a little. I took the collar of his blue onsie, and wiped some snot that hang from his tiny nose. I smiled at him as his lip quivered.

"What's got you all in a mess?" I asked him playfully. I brought him to my shoulder, so that his tiny head was sitting on it. I patted his small back to calm him down some, when I found out why he had been crying. A horrible stench came from his lower body. I groaned. I had always hated changing diapers, even with Akiyo and Akira. Most of the time I left the diaper changing to Sakura, but since she was asleep right now, I had to do it.

Rolling my eyes, I took the small infant to the yellow diaper station to the left of us. I laid him down on the soft cushion, while I reached down for some baby powder and a fresh diaper. He began crying again, but I was back before he had a chance to do it too long. I unbuttoned his onsie, and took off the stinky diaper. I raised his legs and grabbed some wipes that were to the right of the station. I groaned as I took one and began wiping the child's butt, knowing that it must feel better for him. His butt was a tad bit red, so I took some powder and shook it on the red parts.

Still rolling my eyes, I placed the diaper under him, put his legs back down, and fastened the diaper on his small groin. Onari's black eyes looked at me as I threw the soiled diaper in the garbage can beside us. I placed everything back to normal, and buttoned his onsie again. I took the, now calm, baby in my arms and walked him over to the rocking chair.

I sighed. "Better now?" I asked, really only talking to myself. "I hate changing diapers...but I guess when I have kids, I have to."

Onari, obviously, didn't respond. He curled his small fingers against his palm and sniffed one more time. I pulled him to my chest some more, and his head rested on my forearm. He closed his tiny eyes as I began rocking back and forth. Soon, he was asleep.

After about fifteen minutes of me just rocking him, I finally stood up and placed him gently back in his crib. I kissed his forehead and crept out of the room, careful not to disturb him again. Now, it was about 12:30.

Continuing with what I was doing before, I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower. Sakura of course was still asleep, so I was as quiet as possible, careful not to wake her or Onari. I untied my robe and threw it on a drying rack, as I turned the knob on the shower. Sighing occasionally, I jumped in the shower when the water was warm enough. I washed my hair quickly and ran over my body with some soap. After I was done washing, I stood, letting the hot water fall against my skin. It was very relaxing.

After I was through, I stepped out and dried off. I tied the robe back on me, and made my way to the bedroom to get dressed. When I opened the door, I noticed it was now 1:00, and Sakura was no longer in bed. I assumed she was in the kitchen, eating something. I grabbed the first shirt and pair of pants I got my hands on, and threw it on. I brushed my wet hair, and made my way to the kitchen. As I suspected, I saw Sakura eating a bowl of instant ramen. Her pink hair was in tangles and just looked like a mess on her head. Her eyes were drooped, tiredly, as she stuffed some ramen in her mouth.

"Well you look beautiful," I said sarcastically as I walked to the fridge. I opened it up to grab a can of soda, and I sat down in the chair next to her. I opened the can and began drinking. Sakura gave me a half tired, half annoyed look.

"Are you heading over to Naruto's now?" she asked, licking some liquid off of her lip.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Onari was changed a few minutes ago, so he should be alright. Why did you call in sick?"

"Because I wanted to spend the day with you." Sakura raised a brow.

I frowned. "Im sorry, babe."

"Its alright, you do what you need to do." she said swatting her hand in the air. "I'll be here when you get back."

I smiled. "Who knows, I might not even have a mission."

"True," she said looking out of the corner of her eye. "Then maybe we can go eat or something."

"Or maybe we could do other things..." I said seductivley. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, Sasuke, but you already tired me out last night...why do you think im straggling the way I am?" she said.

This surprised me. Usually Sakura was ready to jump into bed. "Your tired?"

"Yes." she sighed. "You must have been saving up for last night, because you totally drained me."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. I shook my head as I stood up, the soda still in my hand. "Alright, we'll go out then."

"It'll be about two o'clock soon. Mind picking up the kids?" she asked as I approached her.

"Not at all."

"Okay." Sakura said stuffing some ramen in her mouth. "I'm going to go take a shower then."

"Well, im going to head out." I said. I reached down and kissed her messy, pink hair and patted her back. "Love you."

"Love you too. If you do have a mission, I'll pick up the kids. Also, be careful."

"I will." I nodded. I walked out of the kitchen, waving to Sakura as I went by. I slipped my shoes on and turned the door knob, ready to step outside.

But I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Naruto standing outside my door.

Naruto and I both screamed, and jumped back about three feet. Sakura rushed into the living room with a chopstick in her mouth and her eyes as big as beach balls.

"What the hell is going on?!" she screamed.

It took me a minute to catch my breath. "Naruto...you scared the hell out of me!" I yelled pulling back my fist and punching him in the chest. "What are you doing here?!"

"I could say the same for you!" Naruto yelled. "You were supposed to report to my office two hours ago!"

"I got caught up." I said crossing my arms.

"Having sex with Sakura, isn't a good enough excuse." Naruto said placing his hands on his hips.

"You don't know what your talking about!" I yelled grabbing his shirt collar. "I should hit you in the face you little dweeb!"

"Your lucky I've known you my whole life, Sasuke, or I'd have you kicked out of this village for threatening a hokage!"

"IM NOT SCARED OF YOU! WHY DON'T YOU DO IT ALREADY?!" I screamed pulling back my fist. "Your still the same stupid Naruto you've always been!"

"I don't do it because you have a family to support! Im trying to be considerate!" Naruto screamed back, getting out of my grasp.

"YOU? CONSIDERATE? Don't make me laugh!"

"Stop it!" Sakura screamed, finally butting in between us. "Everytime you guys see each other you fight! Cut it out! We're not kids anymore, so quit acting like five year olds!" Naruto growled and turned, crossing his arms. I growled myself and looked away. Sakura sighed and looked at Naruto. "He was on his way to your office." she said smacking her palm against her forehead. "Don't chew him out, part of its my fault that he wasn't there. But why are you here now?"

Suddenly, it was like Naruto's anger all went away. He looked sad almost as he looked me in the eye. He sighed before he spoke. "Sasuke, we need to talk."


	19. The mission

**Authors note: **There are possibly two chapters currently left, unless somehow It turns into three…just gonna warn you! Thanks, and review!

* * *

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Sakura exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. I grabbed her wrist, and it took everything in me to get her seated again. When she was seated beside me, I held her thighs down with my hands.

Naruto sighed. "Sasuke is the only ninja in the village who will be the most effective for this mission. He has the sharingan."

"Send Neji or something! He has the byakugan, whats the big deal?" Sakura spat out. "we need Sasuke _here!_ A year is too long to be away from the kids, especially Onari! Onari is just a baby! And Akiyo? Sasuke is the only one he will ever talk to. Naruto, you can't do this!"

"I have no choice, alright?" Naruto glared. "Neji is smart and effective, but his byakugan wont be as effective on this mission. If we had someone else who could use the sharingan, I would send them instead. But we don't, Sasuke and Akiyo are the only ones who can use sharingan, and Akiyo is too young for a mission like this, obviously. Sasuke is the only one who can do this."

"Sasuke," Sakura said turning to me. Tears flowed in her eyes. "say something!"

"What choice do I have, Sakura?" I asked, quietly, almost to where she couldn't hear. "it is a A rank mission, it has to be done."

"No!" Sakura yelled. "the kids need you! I need you! Sasuke, you can't leave us!"

"Those enemies could destroy the village! We have to know their plans, and im the only one who can do it." I said lowering my eyebrows in anger.

Tears ran down Sakura's pale face. She didn't bother to wipe them away, she just turned to Naruto. "theres…no other way?" she asked, almost begging.

Naruto looked away and sighed. "No."

Sakura shook my hands off of her and covered her face. She jumped up off the couch and ran towards the bedroom, slamming it shut behind her. Naruto and I just watched, my emotions crushed.

"I hope you take this mission." Naruto said sadly. "we need you."

"I need time to think," I said, my voice almost breaking. "but…what can I do? I have to take this mission."

"I'm sorry that this is happening so fast, Sasuke. I wish…I wish this didn't have to happen." Naruto said, wiping his eye although there were no tears.

"You have no choice but to assign me to this mission," I said sighing. I closed my eyes and laced my fingers together. "I don't blame you for this."

Naruto was quiet for a moment, "you have two days." he said standing up. "I have to return to my office now. Come by there as soon as you get the time. I need to go over the mission thoroughly."

I sighed and nodded. Naruto gave me a sorry look again, but turned around. He was out the door the next minute.

If I had been used to crying, I would have cried then. But I shut off my crying emotion as soon as I vowed to kill Itachi all those years ago. But still…I still felt hurt in my heart. I forced myself to get off of the couch, and stumble my way into the bedroom. I opened the door, to see Sakura holding her knees, on top of the bed, looking out the window. The sunlight fell on her face as she sniffed, sadly. I walked up behind her, and wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

"Your going, aren't you?" she asked, wiping her cheek on her wrist.

"I have to, Sakura." I said looking down as I sat next to her. "I don't want to. But I need to. These spies…they could harm the village. They could harm our kids."

"I don't want our kids to go without their father," Sakura said shaking her head. "they shouldn't have to. It would just tear Akira apart…"

"Its only a year," I said trying to be positive. "it could be a lot longer."

"A year that our children will have to go without seeing you." Sakura said, her voice breaking. "Onari will forget your face."

"No he won't." I objected. "as soon as the mission is over, I will be home again. With you."

"What if you don't come back?" Sakura said, her big emerald eyes staring into mine. "this is an A rank mission. You havent been on an A rank mission since before Akiyo was born. Your life will be on the line."

"Don't give up hope in me," I said smiling a fake smile. "ill come back, I promise."

"That's what you said so many years ago." Sakura said.

"And I came back, didn't I?"

"Well…yes…"

"So I'll do it again." I said rubbing her shoulders. "you've gone a year without me before. You went even longer than that."

"And all I could think about was you." Sakura said, a tear escaping her eye. "cant we just take our chances?"

"No." I said sternly. "then, it could be too late."

Sakura hid her face in her knees. "Sasuke…I love you."

"I love you too."

"I really…im afraid…" Sakura tried to say, but was interrupted by her own tears. "don't go!" she screamed, jerking her head up and digging her face into my chest. She cried and cried, her tears soaking through my shirt. "a year is too long! don't do it!"

"I have to," I said, my voice breaking. This surprised me, my voice hardly ever did that. "Sakura, please don't make this harder for me. I'm already having trouble."

"Don't go…" she repeated.

I sighed as I held her close to me. She sobbed against my chest, and I laid my cheek on top of her head. It killed me to see the ones I love in pain, and because of me. Sakura had loved me since the beginning, and it took me a while to feel the same way for her. But now that I felt this love for her, I couldn't just pull away from her. Being forced to leave her, killed me inside. And now that kids where involved…

I sat there with her for an hour, letting her cry, without a word.

______________

When I went to go pick up the kids, I had to change shirts first. The one I had was soaked, and Sakura eventually ended up crying herself to sleep. School had ended ten minutes ago, and I was late.

When I reached the academy, Akiyo and Akira were waiting patiently. Akira was attempting to climb up a tree, while Akiyo sat quietly to himself. When they saw me, Akira's face lit up, Akiyo's stayed calm.

"Daddy!" Akira exclaimed, running towards me at full speed. I sighed and tried to change my expression from stressed, to happy. I smiled a fake smile and caught Akira when she jumped towards me. "I missed you!" she exclaimed. I sighed, she missed me after just a few hours? I can't imagine a year…

"I missed you too," I said smiling again. "hey Akiyo," I said nodding to him as he walked up to us.

He studied my face for a moment, then looked calm. "Hey."

"How was school?" I asked, referring to both of them.

"Good," Akira exclaimed. "I learned a little about chakra!"

"It was good." Akiyo repeated. His headband shined against his forehead. "they taught us about our roles as an official genin now."

"Good, good." I said quickly. "your mother isn't feeling all that good, so when you get home, don't make a bunch of noise."

Both of them nodded and Akira wrapped her arms around my neck. "love you daddy," she said.

I sighed and repeated the 'I love you'. I looked down at Akiyo, who was studying me again. No question about it, he knew something was up. Typical Uchiha…

We all three walked in silence, until Akira asked if we could stop for ice cream. Not really caring, I said sure. We stopped by, I gave Akira some money to go get her some, and Akiyo and I waited outside.

I tapped my foot impatiently, when Akiyo asked the question.

"So whats going on." he asked. It wasn't a question. "im not too fond of the look on your face."

"Nothing is wrong." I lied, knowing I shouldn't, since id have to turn around in a moment and tell him anyway.

"Don't lie, dad." Akiyo said crossing his arms. "you don't have to tell Akira, but I would like to know. You and mom get in a fight?" he asked.

"No." I answered.

"Something to do with…erm…_him_?" he asked, referring to Itachi. I sighed.

"No."

"Something happen to Onari?"

"No." I sighed.

"C'mon. Its something."

I crossed my arms and hesitated, but told him. "I have an important mission to go on."

"Alright," Akiyo said calmly. "so whats the big deal?"

"it requires me to be away for a long time." I said swallowing.

"Okay. How long we talking? Two weeks? A month?"

"A _year._" I corrected. I heard Akiyo quietly gasp beside me, and I could almost see his body tense up.

"A year??" he repeated. "that long?" he asked astonished.

I sighed. "Yes. It is a very important mission and I am needed for it."

Akiyo was about to say something, but Akira came skipping out with a ice cream in her hand. She was singing as she continued to skip ahead of us. We continued to walk. Nobody said a word except for Akira's singing, and Akiyo grew tense.


	20. Anger and tears

**Authors note: **Oh, I wanted to let you guys know that I have recently put a ItaSaku story up, for those of you who are interested in ItaSaku…I know some people wanted me to write one, so I did. It's called "Love for his brother" Lol, I hope you check that out…but anyway, review this chapter! I feed on reviews :D

The rest of the day went by pretty quiet. Sakura was asleep in her room, Akiyo was locked in his own, and Akira passed time by playing with her dolls in the middle of the living room floor. I sat on the couch, watching her in awe. The girl had no clue what was going on.

"Daddy," Akira said while brushing her dolls hair. "why's mommy sick?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, Akira." I sighed.

"Is Akiyo sick too?"

"What?"

"He won't come out of his room," Akira said putting the doll down and looking up at me. "he told me to go away when I was gonna ask him if he wanted to play with me. Did I do something?"

"No, baby." I shook my head. "he's just upset."

"Why?" Akira asked curiously. I sighed, annoyed, and just shrugged my shoulders. I dreaded telling her about my mission. Akira stared at me for a minute, then returned to playing with her dolls.

"Sasuke, honey," Sakura's familiar voice came from towards our bedroom. "can you please come here?"

"Is that mommy?" Akira asked, looking towards the hallway as I stood up. Pretending I didn't hear her, I calmly walked to the bedroom, leaving Akira alone in the living room. Sakura was sitting on the bed, her hair a big mess on top of her head, and her legs were crossed. She tried to soothe strands of hair down with her hands, and blinked her eyes before she looked at me directly.

"Come sit." She said sternly. I did so, and sat on the edge of the bed, right in front of her. Sakura took a few deep breaths before she took my hand into hers. She fiddled with my fingers before she opened her mouth to speak: "Sasuke, I'm sorry." She apologized.

"Why?" I asked, appalled.

"I didn't mean to collapse into tears. I feel horrible, I know this is a hard time for you and I know you don't want to leave. I'm sorry." She said sniffing. She took a deep breath and looked at me with tired eyes.

"Sakura, I understand why your upset." I said "I don't want to leave. But I have no choice"—

"I know." Sakura said interrupting me. "Its just…you've left before. It scared me then, and it scares me now. But I know you have to."

"Sakura, I love you and our kids more than anything. I know it scares you. Akiyo is upset too"—

"You told Akiyo?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide. I nodded, slowly. She gave me a look, like she couldn't believe it. "why did you tell him?" she demanded.

"They have to know," I said as if it were obvious. "what else are we going to tell them? Besides, Akiyo knew something was wrong the minute I went to pick him up."

"You should have waited!" Sakura snapped. "so we could tell them together!"

"Akira doesn't know." I corrected her. "I haven't told her yet."

Sakura took a deep breath. "well…that's good, at least. She's going to be so upset…" Sakura said sighing and squeezing my hand. "we all know that shes a daddy's girl…"

"She'll get by." I said calmly. Sakura looked at me for a moment. Her eyes were widened and she looked at me, her expression was unreadable. This confused me.

"You reminded me of you in the old days just then." She said sadly. "I can't believe your leaving again."

"Sakura, try to be positive." I said rubbing her hand. "it could be a lot longer. Its only a year"—

"A year is too long!" Sakura shouted. She began to breathe heavily, and her hand grew tense under mine. I was quiet and remained quiet until the redness in her face vanished.

"We have two days," I said quietly. "and I don't aim to spend them fighting with each other."

"Two days?" Sakura said, her face crushed. "That's even worse! How in the world do you think we can tell our kids that they have two days, and then their father is going to be away for a year?" Sakura demanded.

"We have to deal with what we have." I said looking down at the sheets on the bed. "just make the best out of it."

"No!" Sakura screamed. "don't go!" she yelled again.

"Sakura, don't make this harder than it has to be!" I shouted back.

"Mommy?" a tiny voice came from behind us. I turned to see Akira standing in the crack of the door, her expression hurt. "why are you fighting?" she asked, her voice scared.

Sakura wiped a tear that lingered in her eye, and she faked a smile. "we're not fighting, sweetie. We're just talking." Sakura said, trying to reassure herself more than Akira.

"then why are you yelling?" she asked, her lip quivering. "daddy? Are you leaving?" she asked, looking at me. I sighed. This was going to be hard.

"Akira, come here." I said letting go of Sakura and holding my arms out for the tiny pink haired girl. She ran to me quickly, throwing her arms around my neck. I squeezed her tiny body against mine and held on for a good minute, before she pulled away. I kissed her forehead and wiped pink locks from her face. "you know I love you, right?" I asked.

Akira quickly nodded and looked past me, and at Sakura. "Mommy? Whats wrong with Daddy?" she asked, worriedly.

"Akira," Sakura said taking Akira's hand into hers. I sat her on my lap and rubbed her small back gently. "daddy has to leave for a while," she said as calmly as possible.

Akira didn't say anything. Her eyes just grew wide and she clutched onto my shirt, tightly. Her tiny eyebrows narrowed and she took a deep breath before screaming: "AKIYOOOOO!!!!!!!!" at the top of her lungs. Sakura and I flinched as her scream filled our ears.

Akiyo came running into the room, slamming the door open. "What in the world is going on here?" he demanded. I caught a glance from Akiyo, but looked back at Akira, who now had a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Akiyo! Daddy's leaving!" She screamed. "and for a while too!" she continued.

Akiyo's form suddenly became calm and stiff. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and looked at me. He looked exactly like Itachi. "I know already." He said, his tone almost angry.

Akira gasped as Sakura sniffed. "Akiyo, come sit with us." She said.

Akiyo shook his head. "No."

"I can understand your angry, but we need to talk about this"—

"NO." Akiyo said angrily interrupting Sakura. "theres nothing to talk about!" he shouted.

"Akiyo," I began, but was interrupted by Akiras crying.

"Now Akiyo and Daddy are gonna fight!" Akira screamed. "I hate today!" she yelled.

"How can you do this to us, Dad?" Akiyo yelled over Akira's crying. "how can you just leave us?!"

"I have no choice!" I screamed over Akira. Sakura pulled Akira off of my lap, and sat her in her own, and began trying to calm Akira down. "im the only one who can do this mission"—

"You can decline it!" Akiyo shouted.

"its not that easy!"

"Stop it!" Sakura shouted over us. "Akiyo, stop talking to your father that way!"

"My father?" Akiyo shouted. "How many fathers am I going to have in this lifetime?" he demanded.

"What?" Sakura and I seemed to have weirdly said at the same time.

Akiyos face was the reddest I'd ever seen it. He clenched his fist and screamed: "I had a father, and he didn't care about me! I have another one and he's about to leave me! How many 'fathers' is it gonna take?!" Akiyo screamed.

Akira looked up from Sakura's chest. "Huh?" she asked curiously.

"Akiyo!" I shouted in anger. But it was too late. Akiyo had already slammed the door shut, and sped off.


	21. The accident

**Authors note: **There is two chapters left and IM SURE OF IT THIS TIME lol. Review ;)

* * *

I was furious. I didn't know what to do with all my anger that was built up inside of me, and I hadn't been this angry since fighting Itachi. This was the first time Akiyo managed to flare my anger this way. My fists were clenched so tight, I thought my knuckles would break any minute now. Akira's uncontrollable crying was only making it worse, and now Sakura was crying too. I closed my eyes and tried to collect myself before jumping up off the bed to go after Akiyo. _Uchiha's always had bad tempers…_I thought. _Explains where Akiyo got his._

"Sasuke," Sakura spoke under mumbled words. "Don't be too mad at Akiyo. He's just upset." She said defending him.

"I'm going after him." I said standing up off of the bed.

"Is Daddy going to hurt Akiyo?" Akira asked Sakura worriedly.

"Of course not," Sakura said making her voice as soothing as possible. "He's just going to talk to him."

"Daddy," Akira said turning to me. I turned my head to look at her small, green eyes. Tears filled them. "Are you going to hurt big brother?" she asked.

"No," I said shaking my head.

"He yelled at you though," Akira objected. "Do you promise?"

"I promise I'm not going to hurt Akiyo." I promised. I looked at Sakura, who still had her arms securely around the tiny girl. "Sakura, watch Akira. I'm going to go get Akyio." Sakura nodded and I sped out of the room, unclenching my fists as I got my act together.

I had no idea why I was so mad. If anything, I thought I'd be sad, but I wasn't. maybe it was the way Akyio yelled. Or maybe it was the way he flat out mentioned Itachi being his real father—Talking about Itachi always got me somewhat mad—but I knew that I had to find him, and talk him through this. It was not good for him to be so angry, especially when it had to do with Itachi.

I looked in Akiyo's room, and he wasn't there. That told me already that he wasn't in the house. When I walked into the living room next, I saw the door wide open, and the first place that popped in my mind was the training field. He must have gone there.

I sprinted out of the house, running as fast as I could to the training grounds. The run gathered my anger back together, and the wind blew against my face, giving me time to think. I knew that this was hard for Akiyo, and I knew what he mean't by me leaving. Akiyo and I had strangely grown closer since he found out about Itachi, but only because he never knew Itachi. I didn't want that relationship to vanish.

"Sasuke?" a voice came from my right. I looked over to see Ino next to me, sprinting along. "Sasuke, is everything alright?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, knowing the Ino couldn't possibly know about the mission.

"I saw Akiyo," she said, her eyebrows raised. "I tried to talk to him, but he stormed off before I could get a word out. What happened?"

"No time to explain," I said quickly. "where did he go?"

"He ran towards the gates," Ino said pointing to the direction as if I didn't know where the gates were. Ino's face became shocked. "Sasuke, he's really not thinking about leaving the village is he?"

I gasped. I didn't think of that. "Akiyo!" I screamed and began sprinting faster. Akiyo _could not _leave the village. If he did, he would be named a rogue ninja—I knew from experience, and I was still grateful that the village took me back—and he was far to young to go out by himself. He could get killed! This only made me run faster.

I breezed through the rooftops, accidently running into the buildings because I was going so fast, I wasn't even caring if I landed on a rooftop or not. I had to get to Akiyo.

Finally, I reached the gates, and just as Ino had said, Akiyo stood at the entrance. His back was turned to me but his head was turned to the sky. I stopped, almost falling because of the sudden halt.

"AKIYO!" I screamed. Akiyo didn't say a word at first, and he didn't turn around. I stood to catch my breath before shouting his name again. This time he turned, and his cheeks were soaked with tears. Out of my whole life watching him grow up, Akiyo hardly ever cried. He often reminded me of my own self, never crying. I suddenly felt horrible.

"You can't leave," Akiyo said quietly.

"Akiyo," I said trying to get closer to him. Suddenly, Akiyo reached into his pocket and retrieved a kunai. I gasped at this. What was he planning? "Akiyo," I said trying to be calm. "What do you plan on doing with that?"

"My life is a wreck," Akiyo said holding the kunai with both hands. "I may not have shown it, but ever since I found out you weren't my father, my life has been a wreck. It's all I can think about. The fact that I am never going to know my real father."

"Akiyo, why didn't you tell me?" I asked feeling my own feelings begin to hurt. "we could talk about it"—

"No, we can't." Akiyo said shaking his head. "I thought…I thought that I would be able to cope with it. That I could look at you as my father, just as I always had. It was so hard to get to the point where I would stop thinking about it, and I still have trouble. But now that you said you're leaving…I can't cope with that. I know it's just a year, and it could be a lot longer, but that's going to be a tough year for me. A year knowing that I don't have a dad."

"Akiyo, you always have a dad." I said butting in. "I may not be here for a year, but I will always be your dad."

"A year is too long. If you're leaving, then so am I. Maybe the village would feel better, knowing that the man who killed the whole Uchiha clan, his son, is dead." Akiyo said. He pulled the kunai back then, and closed his eyes shut. He pushed it as fast as he could towards his stomach.

Without thinking, I ran as fast as my legs would let me. I sprinted and for a moment, it seemed that time stopped. The only things moving, were Akiyo and I. right as I reached him, the kunai touched his skin. I pushed it out of his hand as fast as I could, causing the knife to cut across his skin, leaving a large gash on his stomach. Akiyo screamed as he fell from the impact, but I caught him just in time. The kunai fell on the ground, blood oozing down the knife.

Akiyo let out another scream as my arms surrounded him. He covered his gash up with his palms and the blood already began soaking through his shirt. I let him go and raised up his shirt, gasping at the large gash that came from his bellybutton all the way to his hip.

"Akiyo!" I yelled. "Akiyo, hold on!" I yelled, taking off my own shirt. I removed his hands away from the wound, and began tearing bits and pieces off of my white shirt. quickly, I began placing them in the gash, to try and hold the bleeding.

"Whats going on?" a voice came from behind me. I looked around to see Hinata and Tenten, backpacks were secured on their backs. I assumed they were on their way out for a mission.

"Akiyo is injured." I said almost too quickly that the words jumbled together. Hinata gasped and ran over to us. Tenten followed, letting her backpack fall off her.

Hinata bent down when she saw me trying to stop Akiyo's bleeding. "Tenten," Hinata said quickly. "go get the paramedics here, quickly." She ordered. She took my hands and pushed them off of Akiyo's wound as Tenten sprinted off. "Sasuke, I need you to step back. I have limited healing experience, but I think I can heal this wound for the most part. I need some room." She said, almost calmly. Amazed at her calmness, I backed away a few inches.

She took the shirt I had put on Akiyo, and threw it aside. She then raised his own shirt up so she could examine the wound. Akiyo was screaming in pain, and Hinata tried to calm him down as she placed her hands over the wound. Green chakra appeared under her palms, just like Sakura's always did. Akiyo's screaming began to get quieter and quieter, until it finally stopped.

Hinata removed her hands from Akiyo and threw off her backpack. She reached into it and retrieved a small jar that was no bigger than her palm. She opened it quickly, and took her middle and index finger, getting some of the substance inside of it on her fingers. I recognized that it was the famous Hyuga ointment. She rubbed it on the small gash that remained. Only little blood still oozed from the wound.

"We are here, lady Hinata!" a voice came from the right of us. We both looked over, to see two paramedics and Tenten, running toward us.

"Get him to the hospital immediately, I healed his wound but it needs to be stitched." Hinata ordered, watching the paramedic pick Akiyo up into his arms. The paramedic nodded, and the two of them began sprinting in the direction of the hospital.

Tenten was trying to catch her breath from running while Hinata closed her jar and placed it back in her backpack. I sat there on the ground, finally letting out a breath I had no idea I was holding. My eyes were as wide as pancakes, probably.

Hinata stood up, having to have help from Tenten with her big stomach in the way. Tenten and Hinata both stared at me, noticing how shocked I was. Everything had happened so fast.

"Sasuke," Hinata said in her quiet voice. "Akiyo will be fine." She promised. I didn't respond, I just looked at the kunai that lay on the ground. "Sasuke?" Hinata asked.

"Akiyo…" I mumbled. Tenten and Hinata just looked at me, and then to each other.

Tenten walked over and grabbed my wrist. She pulled me up off of the ground, practically by force. Had she been training with Sakura?

"Snap out of it, Sasuke," Tenten said dusting me off. "You need to get to the hospital, right now!" she exclaimed.

"C'mon, we'll go with you." Hinata said approaching me. She then turned around along with Tenten, and the two of them began sprinting to the hospital. Shaking off everything, I followed.

* * *

Pretty intense huh?? Review!


	22. Departure

"Akiyo!" Sakura yelled running into the hospital room, tears spilling down her cheeks. "my baby!" she yelled bending down next to the bed, almost in a slide. She threw her arms around Akiyo, careful not to nudge his wound. I sat in the chair to the right of him, watching her cry tears of joy, seeing that her first born was alright.

"Mom, I'm fine." Akiyo said trying to pull away, him flinching some.

"When I heard, I was so scared." Sakura said pushing some of his hair aside from his forehead. She kissed his forehead a good long moment, and rubbed his face. "but I see that your okay."

"Where's Akira and Onari?" Akiyo asked, looking past her.

"Their downstairs in the waiting room," Sakura said nodding. "Akira was scared to look at you, but I'll reassure her that your fine." Akiyo nodded in response and Sakura kissed his cheek. "you are such the little tough guy, huh?"

"If im a ninja, im going to get hurt worse than this." Akiyo pointed out. I crossed my arms to make myself more relaxed.

"Don't remind me," Sakura said worriedly, picking herself up off of the floor. She sighed, her eyes closing, relaxing. She rubbed the back of her neck and stretched out her back, then opened her eyes. She stared at me now, and she looked down at Akiyo, then back at me. "Sasuke," she said calmly. "can I talk to you outside?"

Great. I was sure Sakura was going to nag at me for not watching Akiyo better. But after she knew my story, I'm sure she would be alright.

I stood up, nodding to her. Sakura nodded back, then calmly walked out of the hospital room. Akiyo shot me a glance, not a particularly "nice" glance, but I acted like I didn't see it. I followed Sakura out, heaving a sigh as the door closed behind me.

Sakura sighed herself, and placed her hands on her hips. She did not look at me, she kept her eyes on the ground. "Would you mind telling me what happened?" Sakura asked, calmly but it had an edge in it.

"Well"—

"Tell me why that my baby is in the hospital?" Sakura said looking up at me angrily. "you promised me."

A feeling of shock overwhelmed me. My eyes grew wide and my eyebrows lowered as I uncrossed my arms and kept them to my sides. Had she seriously thought…? "Your kidding, right, Sakura?" I asked. She gave me a look telling me that she was serious. "you're crazy! There's no way I stabbed Akiyo!" I yelled.

"What am I supposed to think, Sasuke? You rushed out of the house, FURIOUS, and next thing I know, Tenten is at my door, telling me that Akiyo was stabbed and is now in the hospital. What did you do to him?" Sakura rushed out, furious and angry.

"Sakura! That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! I would _never _harm Akiyo that way, EVER! Your talking to the guy who never even spanked his kids, what makes you think I would be so angry as to stab my own son??" I yelled, but in a whisper so that Akiyo wouldn't hear us just outside his door.

"I don't know why you did it, Sasuke, but you could have killed him." Sakura said, tears spilling out of her eyes again. "I never thought you would do this."

Angry, I grabbed her shoulders. "Sakura! This is stupid! You know me better than this! I would never physically harm our children! Stop this!"—

"Dad didn't stab me," a voice came from beside us. Sakura and I turned at the same time, to see Akiyo holding onto the door knob for support, the door opened. We never heard the door even open! Akiyo's black eyes were focused on the ground beneath him and he was holding securely onto the door handle.

I let Sakura go, and rushed to Akiyo's side. I took him into my own arms, and Akiyo let go of the door. I tried to be as gentle with him as possible, while Sakura approached his other side, wrapping her arm around his shoulders.

"Akiyo?" Sakura asked.

"Dad didn't stab me," he repeated. It was obvious our attempt not to let Akiyo hear us, failed. "Mom, don't be mad at him."

Sakura looked from him to me for a moment, and then looked straight back at Akiyo. She was confused, and I was grateful. I could have sworn that Akiyo was mad at me a few moments ago…so why was he doing this for me?

"Akiyo, what happened?" Sakura asked, completely ignoring me. She must have still been mad at me about something.

"Um…" Akiyo began. I could tell instantly by the look on his face, that he truly did not want to tell his mother about him wanting to kill himself. I, as a matter of fact, didn't blame him. Sakura would be furious about it, and probably go as far as to send him to therapy. Not thinking, I opened my mouth to speak:

"He was angry, and he wanted to throw some kunai to help him get out his aggression. I destracted him when he saw me come up to him, and he had an accident" I lied, getting the words out fast. It was the worst fib in the world, but what else was I supposed to say?

Sakura raised an eyebrow to me and looked at Akiyo. "Is that true, honey?" she asked. He looked at me for a moment, and I raised my eyebrows in return. Akiyo then turned to Sakura and nodded. She hugged him gently. "so it was really just an accident then…alright." She said positively. Sakura leaned away and kissed him again, then smiled the realest smile she could manage. "you should go lay down, me being a nurse, I can't believe im letting you get out of bed right now…"

Akiyo smiled at her. "alright,"

Sakura was getting ready to pick him up, but I stopped her. "you should go check on Akira and Onari. I've got everything here." I said, standing up and picking up Akiyo in my own arms.

Sakura looked at me for a moment, her eyes sad. She gave me an apologetic look, and then smiled a fake smile again. "alright." She finally said.

"I love you." I said quietly.

Sakura hesitated for a moment, but then smiled a real smile this time. "I love you too." Then she turned around and began speeding down the hallway, to check on our two other kids. I walked with Akiyo back into the room, placing him down on the bed. I pulled the covers up to him, just like I used to do when he was much smaller.

He sighed as I sat down. "Thanks," he mumbled. "You saved me back there."

"You saved me too." I said looking at him. "Akiyo…you know I really didn't mean for you to get hurt, right?"

"Yeah," Akiyo nodded. "it's my fault, I shouldn't"—

"Just promise me you won't ever try that again." I said interrupting him. Akiyo gasped, surprisingly as he looked at me. "I know that it must be hard for you…but…please, please don't ever try that again. I don't know what I would have done if I wouldn't have stopped you in time," I said sighing a sigh of relief. "Besides being there delivering a baby for the first time, it was the scariest experience I had ever been through."

"Delivering a baby?" Akiyo asked. "who did you deliver?"

I laughed. "We'll talk about it another time."

"Knock, knock," a voice said, coming from the door of the room. I was grateful that Naruto came just in time, before Akiyo tried to prowl the story of him being born out of me. Akiyo and I both looked at Naruto as he gave a sincere look to Akiyo. "Hey, Akiyo. I heard you got hurt. I came as soon as I heard. You doing okay?"

"I'm fine." Akiyo said reassuringly. Naruto nodded in approval, and then eyed me.

"Sasuke, I need to talk to you." He said in a serious tone. I raised an eyebrow as if asking why. He sighed annoyed. "its about…the mission. I need to know your answer. And I need to let you in on some details. This means you have to come out here…it's called confidentiality."

"We have to talk about it now?"—

"Yes." Naruto said sternly. "it can't wait. I have a lot of work to do, and I have to send you out two days from now."

"Dad," Akiyo said bringing my attention back to him. He did not look angry this time, just upset. I sighed.

"I'll be back." I said reassuring him. Akiyo looked down at his hands for a minute, and then nodded. I stood up out of my stool and approached Naruto, who stood calmly out in the hallway. I closed the door tightly behind us, hoping Akiyo wouldn't hear us this time.

"Are you taking this mission or not?" Naruto asked shoving his hands in his pockets. "I need to know, now."

I sighed. "Yes." The words almost stung as they came out. I dreaded going on this mission more than anything, but what other choice did I have?

"Good. We really need you for it, Sasuke." Naruto said nodding. "Now let me recap the mission: You are to go to the rain village, and spy on these two men; Harue Kanzuki and Ichiro Monaki. They are suspected to be up to no good and if they are suspected to attack us, you are to wipe them out. So, really, the mission is supposed to last about a year because you are to blend into the village and act as a civilian. You are to befriend the two men and act as a spy, seeing to what they are up to. However, since you have _such good_ social skills…" Naruto said sarcastically laughing to himself. I rolled my eyes. "if you manage to befriend them right away and see what they are really up to, then the mission may not last as long as expected."

"It sounds easy enough," I said a little bit cocky. "The time duration will probably be the hardest for me."

"Don't underestimate the mission, Sasuke." Naruto nagged. "You are one of the village's top ninja, but these two men are nothing to snarl your nose at. Their jonin ninja."

"Ooo, jonin." I said in a voice as if I were scared. "I'm a jonin too. I can handle this mission."

"Now do you understand why I need you specifically? You have the sharingan, which means you would have a best chance at defeating the men if you need to. And your sharingan will make it useful to spy." Naruto explained. "just don't be reckless." He cautioned.

"Funny, I remember I used to be the one telling YOU that." I laughed. Naruto smirked at me.

"Well now I'm telling you. You have a family to watch over. You be careful." He warned. "And…your still my best friend." He added at the last minute.

"You sound like a girl," I teased. "I'll be fine. What day and what time will I need to head out?"

"Today is Wednesday, so you'll need to head out Friday afternoon." Naruto answered.

"You said I had two days." I raised my brow.

"Today counts as a day." Naruto smirked.

"Of course it does." I sighed.

Naruto placed his hand on my shoulder. "You may want to start packing whenever you get home. You're going to be gone for a year, most likely. And you should probably spend time with your kids."

"I already planned to do that," I said looking at the door as if I were looking at Akiyo. "you're going to watch over them while I'm gone, right?"

"Of course." Naruto said quickly while nodding. I nodded in response.

"Alright. Is that all?"

"Yes. I'm going to get everything set up for you, and I want you to come by my office Friday morning. I want you out by three o'clock, no exceptions." Naruto said turning around.

"Got it." I confirmed. Naruto smiled at me once, and then turned to continue walking down the hallway. I stepped back into Akiyo's room, and saw him lying down in the bed, his eyes closed. I stepped over to his bedside and sat in the stool. "Akiyo? You asleep?" I asked.

"No," he answered without opening his eyes. "just thinking."

"About what?" I asked. As if I already didn't know.

"Theres a chance that you wont be gone a full year," Akiyo said plainly.

I nodded as he opened his eyes to look at me. I smiled at him. "you have ears like a hawk, don't you?"

"Im an Uchiha, remember?" Akiyo challenged. I smiled.

"That's true."

"Dad?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to try to accomplish the mission as fast as you can?" Akiyo asked. His black eyes bore into mine. I smiled as his looked exactly as mine did.

"Of course." I answered. "but it will take some time."

"I understand." Akiyo said nodding. "I hope it wont take a full year."

"Me too, Buddy." I said looking down at the ground. "ill try my best."

"I guess I can look on the bright side, though." Akiyo said causing me to look up at him again. He smiled at me. "your always going to be my dad." He said happily. "and dad?" he continued.

"Hm?"

"I promise ill never try that again." He said continuing the conversation we had earlier. I smiled at him in return.

* * *

**Authors note: **I did a little time skip here.

**Friday, 2:30 pm. **

I closed the flap to my backpack and threw it over my shoulder. It was rather heavy than the ones I usually carried, but that was to be expected since I had almost all my clothing inside this backpack. Sakura had to teach me how to fold clothes better so that I could fit it all in my new, abnormally large backpack. Women are such intriguing beings aren't they?

I sighed as I looked at my now, empty closet. I had never realized how much clothing I had that I hardly wore at all. Only a few shirts remained in the closet, shirts that I told Sakura to throw out as soon as I was gone. A turtle neck being one of them. I may wear shirts with big collars, but Sasuke Uchiha does NOT wear turtle necks.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was in its usual form, and I soothed down a loose hair. My face was expressionless, the face I had grown up getting used to. I held my leaf headband in my hand, and slowly tied to it my forehead. I knew that I would just have to remove it as soon as I crossed the land of fires boarder, because if I wore it, any other ninjas would most likely attack me. But I had to wear it as long as I was in the land of fire, it pretty much sealed my protection. Not only that, but I was honoring our village.

When I tied it and adjusted it just right, I exited the room, turning off the light on my way out. I made sure to spray cologne on one of my shirts and lay it on the dresser for Sakura. I knew that if she had the scent of me around her at night, it would make it easier for her to sleep. Not only that, she actually wanted me to do it.

_"Sasuke…tomorrow when you leave…can you do something for me?" she asked, her emerald eyes glowing._

_ "Sure, what is it?" I asked._

_ "Could you spray one of your shirts with your cologne and lay it on the dresser?" Sakura asked. This caused me to look at her confused._

_ "Um..sure…but why?"_

_ "Because having your scent near me when I sleep will let me sleep better. I know it might seem foolish to you, but im really going to miss you, Sasuke." She said sadly. She wiped her eye even though there were no tears. "can you?"_

_ "Anything that will make you feel more comfortable with my leave, I'll do it sweetie." I said kindly. "ill do it before I leave. Since you and the other will already be at the gate, waiting for me."_

_ "Thank you so much, Sasuke." Sakura said happily. "oh, well…theres one more thing that I want you to do for me."_

_ "Whats that?" I asked, curiously._

_ "We have to have sex tonight." She said almost seductively. "If im not going to see you for a whole year, don't you dare hesitate with me tonight." She said almost in a demand._

_ I couldn't help but laugh at that one. "sounds good to me…" I said grinning._

I smiled, remembering last night. I have to admit, that was the best we had ever had. It made me want more, but I didn't want to be sore on my way to the rain village today. So one was good enough. I laughed to myself.

I sighed as I looked around, acknowledging that I had gotten everything together that needed to be gathered. It almost scared me at how quiet the house was without everyone else, but I knew that they were waiting at the gates for me. I decided that it was finally time I joined them.

I stepped out of the house and looked at it for a minute. It would be most likely a year before I got to see the house again, so I just wanted to see it for a minute. But of course I wasn't going to get all emotional about me leaving, so I was on my way quickly.

It did not take me long to get to the gates. And as soon as I did, just as I expected, all of my friends were standing there. Naruto, Sakura, Akira, Akiyo, Onari, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Lee, Ino, Shikamaru and the rest of the squad. I smiled as they all smiled back at me and I noticed Sakura trying to hold back her tears. Akira had not started crying yet, surprisingly and Akiyo was in his usual stance. He did smile at me though. I was so glad he now understood what was needed of me.

I stood in the front of them, my back facing the gate. They all stood in a line, and smiled at me. Sakura was holding baby Onari and he was curled up against her chest, sound asleep.

Naruto approached me and laid a hand on my shoulder. "Be careful out there." He said. "we'll be praying for you everyday."

Hinata came up next. "its too bad your not going to be here when our son is born," Hinata said rubbing her stomach. "but he'll be ready for you as soon as you come back." She grinned.

Tenten and Neji came up after Hinata, and Tenten was hand in hand with a small boy next to her. She smiled. "Jiro, this is Sasuke." She said. Jiro smiled at me, but he was shy. I said hello to him and Tenten smiled. "I figured now would be a good time to introduce you, since we just got full custody of him this morning." She said happily. I nodded and smiled. Tenten then let go of Jiro's hand and hugged me. This surprised me, Tenten had actually never hugged me before. "Be safe out there." She whispered.

Neji nodded at me and smiled. He held out his hand and I took it, causing a firm handshake. "We'll be waiting your return, Uchiha." He said positively.

Shikamaru and Ino approached after Tenten and Neji left. Ino hugged me as well, and Shikamaru followed with a handshake. "I so badly wish Mai could be here," Ino said looking at me with pale blue eyes. "Poor baby got sick again last night."

"That's alright," I said nodding. "just tell her I'll see her soon." Ino nodded and her and Shikamaru returned to the line. Kiba, Lee, Shino and Choji then came up as well, all taking turns shaking my hand. I was very surprised when Kakashi actually came out of behind the line; we hardly saw much of Kakashi these days. He was constantly out on missions.

"Kakashi Sensei," I said nodding at him. Kakashi smiled under his mask and shook my hand.

"You've grown so much since squad seven. Im sorry that I couldn't have been around to watch you raise your children and grow, ive been out on constant missions. But anyway," he said patting my shoulder. "I wouldn't miss today for anything."

"Thanks, Kakashi." I smiled. Kakashi returned the smile and returned back to the line. After everyone was finished saying their goodbyes, Sakura approached me next. She handed over Onari to Akiyo, who held him perfectly.

Sakura threw her arms around my neck and kissed me passionately in front of everyone. Of course she didn't care and neither did I. the kiss seemed to have lasted forever, until she finally pulled away.

"You better be careful out there…" she whispered as I slowly lifted her up off the ground. "I mean it. And if you ever have the time, write us."

"You know I will." I said kissing her slightly again. "I love you and I will be careful."

"Im serious, Sasuke, no goofing off." She said almost nagging. "I love you too much." She said again. And with that, she kissed me again, for even longer now it seemed like. Finally, she leaned away and hugged me for a long moment. I finally placed her back on the ground, and Akira came running up to me, full speed. I bent down and opened my arms wide, she practically jumped into them.

"Daddy…" Akira said, her voice breaking. She was now sobbing. "I'm going to miss you so much…"

"I'm going to miss you too, Akira," I said hugging her as tightly as I could. "but you always remember…I love you and im with you wherever you go. Im always with you, and when I come back, I'm going to swarm you with all the love you can ever get." I promised.

"Even go to the park?" she asked excitedly. This made me laugh, Akira absolutely favored the park.

"We can do anything you want to do when I get back." I promised. "although, im sure mommy will take you."

"No," Akira shook her head. "I'll wait till you get back." I laughed at this and kissed her lips slightly, then hugged her again. Over her shoulder, I could see some of the others getting teary eyed. Especially Hinata, I guess the whole father daughter thing really got to some people's hearts.

When Akira finally let go, Akiyo walked forward. I smiled as he held Onari to his chest. I kissed Onari's forehead and rubbed his cheek. "It'll be a while before I get to see you again, sport." I said talking to Onari. Onari was fast asleep and I kissed him one more time, before Akiyo handed him off to Sakura.

Akiyo stood in front of me, his own leaf headband shining in the sunlight. I smiled at him. "you make sure to take care of your mother and your little brother and sister. You're a ninja, its your job." I said ruffling his hair.

Akiyo smiled back. "By the time you get back, I'll be a chunin." He said happily. I laughed.

"I sure hope so." I said patting his shoulder again. Akiyo laughed as I met his gaze again. "I assume you don't want a hug, big, tough, ninja." I teased.

Akiyo looked at me and smiled. Then all of a sudden, he jumped into my arms. It surprised me a little, but I hugged him back. I was even more surprised when I heard him sniffle.

"Be careful, dad." He said. "I don't want to have to become Onari's father." He said almost teasing. I laughed and pulled away.

"You be careful too. Your no longer a kid, you're a ninja." I said nodding. "protect those who you love with all your heart. And be strong. I'll be back before you know it."

"You telling me the truth now?" he asked looking at me with his much too similar eyes.

I nodded. "Yes. I'll be back." Akiyo smiled and hugged me once more, before pulling away. I stood back on my own two feet and glanced at Naruto. "You better take care of them while im gone," I warned. "Don't make me have to beat you up the minute I come back."

"Heh, Sasuke, while your in the rain village, you should try working on your attitude a bit." He laughed. I laughed back and turned around.

"I'll see what I can do." I whispered. And with one wave of my hand, I was gone. Sprinting through the trees, just as I used to do back in the old days.

* * *

**ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!** I just thought I'd fill you in. So, I word SUPER hard on this chapter, and I REALLY hope you liked it! PLEAAASSEEE REVIEWWWWW!!! No flames though :)


	23. Authors note

**Authors note: **Well, I definitely wasn't planning on going on with the story. But, it seems that nobody wants it to end! Lol, so congratulations, you've talked me into it. However, since I am continuing, I am not going to be writing that last chapter for this story because in all honesty, I was going to make this chapter a time skip to where he comes back. But since you guys want me to continue, then im going to. but im going to start another story continuing ( basically because I don't want this story to get too long) and its going to be pretty much about Sasukes traveles. Which you know, theres going to be some action in there and some stuff about him missing his family and ya know. The good stuff. And I haven't decided if I am going to switch the story out between Sasuke and Sakura's point of view yet. But I also need some time to plan out the plot for the next one because I wasn't planning on continuing lol. So be patient with this, and ill get it up as soon as I can. It will most likely be called "travels of a Uchiha" unless you can think of something better. If you can, by all means let me know. Thanks!!!!

(also, I think that if you subscribe to me, then I think it will tell you when I have new stories up. But im not too sure about that. If not, well just check back weekly to see if the new story is up.)


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